mmm^0flkmki m  aiW'VWr/i  Timaininwaii-rnMr  inim  i     1 1 


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BYMISSMULOCK 
ILLUSTRATED  BY  ALICE  CARSEY 


UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

School  of  Library 

Science 


■f?  -l"f 


"y^H  ITT^TATST  "Pu  B  LI  S  H I  MG^Co. 

RACINE,  WISCONSIN 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hil 


http://www.archive.org/details/adventuresofbrowcraik 


Contents 


BROWNIE  AND  THE  COOK 9 

BROWNIE  AND   THE   CHERRY  TREE 25 

BROWNIE   IN   THE   FARM-YARD 85 

BROWNIE'S  RIDE    57 

BROWNIE  ON  THE  ICE 77 

BROWNIE   AND   THE   CLOTHES 99 

THE  FAIR  ONE  WITH  THE  GOLDEN  LOCKS.  . .  119 

THE  WOOD-CUTTER'S  DAUGHTER   139 

THE  BLUEBIRD   173 


696719 


w 


Illu&rations 
t7> 


NOBODY  HAD  EVER  SEEN  HIM  EXCEPT  THE  CHILDREN 

(Color  Frontispiece) 


I'ECORATIVE  TITLE  PAGE 


THE   MILK   WAS   ALWAYS   PUT   BEHIND   THE    CELLAR 

DOOR    11 

THE  COOK  CAME  DOWN  STAIRS  EARLIER  THAN  USUAL 

(Color) 18 

A  FAVORITE  PLACE  WAS  THE  ORCHARD  (Color)  19 

"HOW  DO  YOU  DO,  MRS.  PUSSY?" 19 

HE  HELPED  TO  PICK  UP  THE  CHERRIES 31 

THE    WIFE    ROSE    WITH    THE    DAWN    TO    FEED    HER 

POULTRY    38 

HE  PLACED  HIMSELF  UPON  THE  MILKING  STOOL 43 

SHE  HAD  MADE  A  NEST  FOR  HERSELF 48 

WATCH  THEM  RUNNING  TO  THE  OLD  HEN  (Color) 51 

SHE  WAS  NO  BIGGER  THAN  A  DONKEY 65 

SHE  COULD  NOT  BE  CAUGHT  AGAIN  FOR  MANY  MIN- 
UTES (Color)    66 

HE  TALKED  WITH  THE  GARDENER'S  WIFE  68 


viii  ILLUSTRATIONS 

OUT  SHE  CAME,  WETTER  AND  BRISKER  THAN  EVER  ....  79 

SHE  BADE  FAIR  TO  BECOME  A  GREAT  PET  (Color) 82 

ONE  OP  THEM  PULLED  THE  GARDENER'S  COAT-TAILS. .  83 

"HO-HO,  LITTLE  PEOPLE,"  HE  SAID  87 

SHE  CUT  FIVE  BIG  SLICES 91 

THEY  ALL  WENT  DOWN  THE  LAKE  (Color)  99 

SUDDENLY  THE  BARROW  TILTED  OVER 103 

THE  GARDENER  HAD  RHEUMATISM  (Color)  106 

SHE   WASHED   AND    HUNG   HER    CLOTHES    ALL    OVER 

AGAIN  (Color) 107 

I  SHOULD  LIKE  A  BROWNIE  TO  PLAY  WITH  ME 114 

COQUETTE  USED  TWO  BOTTLES  OF  ESSENCE  (Color)  ....  130 

"OBEY  ME  STILL,"  SHE  SAID  GRACIOUSLY 131 

HE  CAME  HOME  TO  HIS  WIFE 143 

SHE  FOUND  HERSELF  WANDERING  ON  THE  HIGHWAY 

(Color)    146 

HE  BROUGHT  SOME  CAKES  AND  CHEESE  (Color) 147 

HE  HAD  A  DAUGHTER  NAMED  FLORINA  (Color)   162 

THE  CASTLE  175 

BUT  THOUGH  HE  LOOKED  LIKE  A  BLUEBIRD  (Color)   ....  178 

THE  BEAUTIFUL  BLUEBIRD  HID  IN  A  HOLLOW  TREE  ...  185 

THEY  CONVERSED  TILL  DAYBREAK  (Color)   194 


The  G/Idventures 
of  a  brownie 


e 


THE  ADVENTURES 
-A-  BROWNIE 


BROWNIE  AND  THE  COOK 

THERE  was  once  a  little  Brownie,  who  lived — 
where  do  you  think  he  lived?  In  a  coal-cellar. 

Now  a  coal-cellar  may  seem  a  most  curious 
place  to  choose  to  live  in;  but  then  a  Brownie  is  a 
curious  creature — a  fairy,  and  yet  not  one  of  that 
sort  of  fairies  who  fly  about  on  gossamer  wings, 
and  dance  in  the  moonlight,  and  so  on.  He  never 
dances;  and  as  to  wings,  what  use  would  they  be  to 
him  in  a  coal-cellar?  He  is  a  sober,  stay-at-home, 
household  elf — nothing  much  to  look  at,  even  if  you 
did  see  him,  which  you  are  not  likely  to  do — only  a 


10  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

little  old  man,  about  a  foot  high,  all  dressed  in 
brown,  with  a  brown  face  and  hands,  and  a  brown 
peaked  cap,  just  the  color  of  a  brown  mouse.  And, 
like  a  mouse,  he  hides  in  corners — especially 
kitchen  corners,  and  only  comes  out  after  dark 
when  nobody  is  about,  and  so  sometimes  people 
call  him  Mr.  Nobody. 

I  said  you  were  not  likely  to  see  him.  I  never 
did,  certainly,  and  never  knew  anybody  that  did; 
but  still,  if  you  were  to  go  into  Devonshire,  you 
would  hear  many  funny  stories  about  Brownies  in 
general,  and  so  I  may  as  well  tell  you  the  adven- 
tures of  this  particular  Brownie,  who  belonged  to 
a  family  there;  which  family  he  had  followed  from 
house  to  house,  most  faithfully,  for  years  and 
years. 

A  good  many  people  had  heard  him — or  sup- 
posed they  had — when  there  were  extraordinary 
noises  about  the  house;  noises  which  must  have 
come  from  a  mouse  or  a  rat — or  a  Brownie.  But 
nobody  had  ever  seen  him  except  the  children — 
the  three  little  boys  and  three  little  girb — who 
declared  he  often  came  to  play  with  them  when 
they  were  alone,  and  was  the  nicest  companion  in 
the  world,  though  he  was  such  an  old  man — 
hundreds  of  years  old!  He  was  full  of  fun  and 
mischief,  and  up  to  all  sorts  of  tricks,  but  he  never 
did  anybody  any  harm  unless  they  deserved  it. 


THE  MILK  WAS  ALWAYS  PUT  BEHIND  THE  CELLAR  DOOR 


12  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

Brownie  was  supposed  to  live  under  one  par- 
ticular coal,  in  the  darkest  corner  of  the  cellar, 
which  was  never  allowed  to  be  disturbed.  Why 
he  had  chosen  it  nobody  knew,  and  how  he  lived 
there,  nobody  knew  either,  nor  what  he  lived  upon. 
Except  that,  ever  since  the  family  could  remem- 
ber, there  had  always  been  a  bowl  of  milk  put  be- 
hind the  coal-cellar  door  for  the  Brownie's  sup- 
per. Perhaps  he  drank  it — perhaps  he  didn't;  any- 
how, the  bowl  was  always  found  empty  next  morn- 
ing'. The  old  Cook,  who  had  lived  all  her  life  in  the 
family,  had  never  once  forgotten  to  give  Brownie 
his  supper;  but  at  last  she  died,  and  a  young  Cook 
came  in  her  stead,  who  was  very  apt  to  forget 
everything.  She  was  also  both  careless  and  lazy, 
and  disliked  taking  the  trouble  to  put  a  bowl  of 
milk  in  the  same  place  every  night  for  Mr.  No- 
body. "She  didn't  believe  in  Brownies,"  she  said; 
"she  had  never  seen  one,  and  seeing's  believing." 
So  she  laughed  at  the  other  servants,  who  looked 
very  grave,  and  put  the  bowl  of  milk  in  its  place 
as  often  as  they  could,  without  saying  much  about 
it. 

But  once,  when  Brownie  woke  up,  at  his  usual 
hour  for  rising — ten  o'clock  at  night,  and  looked 
round  in  search  of  his  supper — which  was,  in  fact, 
his  breakfast — he  found  nothing  there.  At  first 
he  could  not  imagine  such  neglect,  and  went  smell- 


BROWNIE  AND  THE  COOK  13 

ing  and  smelling  about  for  his  bowl  of  milk — it 
was  not  always  placed  in  the  same  corner  now — 
but  in  vain. 

"This  will  never  do,"  said  he;  and,  being  ex- 
tremely hungry,  began  running  about  the  coal- 
cellar  to  see  what  he  could  find.  His  eyes  were  as 
useful  in  the  dark  as  in  the  light — like  a  pussy- 
cat's; but  there  was  nothing  to  be  seen — not  even 
a  potato  paring,  or  a  dry  crust,  or  a  well-gnawed 
bone,  such  as  Tiny  the  terrier  sometimes  brought 
into  the  coal-cellar  and  left  on  the  floor — nothing, 
in  short,  but  heaps  of  coal  and  coal-dust;  and 
even  a  Brownie  can  not  eat  that,  you  know. 

"Can't  stand  this;  quite  impossible!"  said  the 
Brownie,  tightening  his  belt  to  make  his  poor  little 
mside  feel  less  empty.  He  had  been  asleep  so  long 
— about  a  week,  I  believe,  as  was  his  habit  when 
there  was  nothing  to  do — that  he  seemed  ready  to 
eat  his  own  head,  or  his  boots,  or  anything. 
"What's  to  be  done?  Since  nobody  brings  my  sup- 
per, I  must  go  and  fetch  it." 

He  spoke  quickly,  for  he  always  thought 
quickly,  and  made  up  his  mind  in  a  minute.  To 
be  sure,  it  was  a  very  little  mind,  like  his  little 
body;  but  he  did  the  best  he  could  with  it,  and  was 
not  a  bad  sort  of  old  fellow,  after  all.  In  the  house 
he  had  never  done  any  harm,  and  often  some  good, 
for  he  frightened  away  all  the  rats,  mice,  and 


14  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

black-beetles.  Not  the  crickets — he  liked  them,  as 
the  old  Cook  had  done:  she  said  they  were  such 
cheerful  creatures,  and  always  brought  luck  to  the 
house.  But  the  young  Cook  could  not  hear  them, 
and  used  to  pour  boiling  water  down  their  holes, 
and  set  basins  of  beer  for  them  with  little  wooden 
bridges  up  to  the  rim,  that  they  might  walk  up, 
tumble  in,  and  be  drowned. 

So  there  was  not  even  a  cricket  singing  in  the 
silent  house  when  Brownie  put  his  head  out  of  his 
coal-cellar  door,  which,  to  his  surprise,  he  found 
open.  Old  Cook  used  to  lock  it  every  night,  but 
the  young  Cook  had  left  that  key,  and  the  kitchen 
and  pantry  keys  too,  all  dangling  in  the  lock,  so 
that  any  thief  might  have  gotten  in,  and  wan- 
dered all  over  the  house  without  being  found  out. 

"Hurrah,  here's  luck!"  cried  Brownie,  tossing 
his  cap  up  in  the  air,  and  bounding  right  through 
the  scullery  into  the  kitchen.  It  was  quite  empty, 
but  there  was  a  good  fire  burning  itself  out — just 
for  its  own  amusement,  and  the  remains  of  a  capi- 
tal supper  spread  on  the  table — enough  for  half  a 
dozen  people  being  left  still. 

Would  you  like  to  know  what  there  was?  Dev- 
onshire cream,  of  course;  and  part  of  a  large  dish 
of  junket,  which  is  something  like  curds  and  whey. 
Lots  of  bread-and-butter  and  cheese,  and  half  an 
apple-pudding.    Also  a  great  jug  of  cider  and  an- 


BROWNIE  AND  THE  COOK  15 

other  of  milk,  and  several  half -full  glasses,  and 
no  end  of  dirty  plates,  knives,  and  forks.  All  were 
scattered  about  the  table  in  the  most  untidy  fash- 
ion, just  as  the  servants  had  risen  from  their  sup- 
per, without  thinking  to  put  anything  away. 

Brownie  screwed  up  his  little  old  face  and 
turned  up  his  button  of  a  nose,  and  gave  a  long 
whistle.  You  might  not  believe  it,  seeing  he  lived 
in  a  coal-cellar;  but  really  he  liked  tidiness,  and 
always  played  his  pranks  upon  disorderly  or  slov- 
enly folk. 

"Whew!"  said  he;  "here's  a  chance.  SVhat  a 
supper  I'll  get  now!" 

And  he  jumped  on  to  a  chair  and  thence  to  the 
table,  but  so  quietly  that  the  large  black  cat  with 
four  white  paws,  called  Muff,  because  she  was  so 
fat  and  soft  and  her  fur  so  long,  who  sat  dozing 
in  front  of  the  fire,  just  opened  one  eye  and  went 
to  sleep  again.  She  had  tried  to  get  her  nose  into 
the  milk- jug,  but  it  was  too  small;  and  the  junket- 
dish  was  too  deep  for  her  to  reach,  except  with  one 
paw.  She  didn't  care  much  for  bread  and  cheese 
and  apple-pudding,  and  was  very  well  fed  besides; 
so,  after  just  wandering  round  the  table,  she  had 
jumped  down  from  it  again,  and  settled  herself 
to  sleep  on  the  hearth. 

But  Brownie  had  no  notion  of  going  to  sleep. 
He  wanted  his  supper,  and  oh!  what  a  supper  he 


16  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

did  eat!  first  one  thing  and  then  another,  and  then 
trying  everything  all  over  again.  And  oh!  what 
a  lot  he  drank ! — first  milk  and  then  cider,  and  then 
mixed  the  two  together  in  a  way  that  would  have 
disagreed  with  anybody  except  a  Brownie.  As  it 
was,  he  was  obliged  to  slacken  his  belt  several 
times,  and  at  last  took  it  off  altogether.  But  he 
must  have  had  a  most  extraordinary  capacity  for 
eating  and  drinking — since,  after  he  had  nearly 
cleared  the  table,  he  was  just  as  lively  as  ever,  and 
began  jumping  about  on  the  table  as  if  he  had  had 
no  supper  at  all. 

Now  his  jumping  was  a  little  awkward,  for 
there  happened  to  be  a  clean  white  table-cloth:  as 
this  was  only  Monday,  it  had  had  no  time  to  get 
dirty — untidy  as  the  Cook  was.  And  you  know 
Brownie  lived  in  a  coal-cellar,  and  his  feet  were 
black  with  running  about  in  coal  dust.  So  wher- 
ever he  trod,  he  left  the  impression  behind,  until 
at  last  the  whole  table-cloth  was  covered  with 
black  marks. 

Not  that  he  minded  this;  in  fact,  he  took  great 
pains  to  make  the  cloth  as  dirty  as  possible;  and 
then  laughing  loudly,  "Ho,  ho,  ho!"  leaped  on  to 
the  hearth,  and  began  teasing  the  cat;  squeaking 
like  a  mouse,  or  chirping  like  a  cricket,  or  buzzing 
like  a  fly;  and  altogether  disturbing  poor  Pussy's 
mind  so  much,  that  she  went  and  hid  herself  in  the 


BROWNIE  AND  THE  COOK  17 

farthest  corner,  and  left  him  the  hearth  all  to  him- 
self, where  he  lay  at  ease  till  day-break. 

Then,  hearing  a  slight  noise  overhead,  which 
might  be  the  servants  getting  up,  he  jumped  on  to 
the  table  again — gobbled  up  the  few  remaining 
crumbs  for  his  breakfast,  and  scampered  off  to  his 
coal-cellar;  where  he  hid  himself  under  his  big  coal, 
and  fell  asleep  for  the  day. 

Well,  the  Cook  came  down  stairs  rather  earlier 
than  usual,  for  she  remembered  She  had  to  clear 
off  the  remains  of  supper;  but  lo  and  behold,  there 
was  nothing  left  to  clear!  Every  bit  of  food  was 
eaten  up — the  cheese  looked  as  if  a  dozen  mice 
had  been  nibbling  at  it,  and  nibbled  it  down  to  the 
very  rind;  the  milk  and  cider  were  all  drunk — and 
mice  don't  care  for  milk  and  cider,  you  know.  As 
for  the  apple-pudding,  it  had  vanished  altogether; 
and  the  dish  was  licked  as  clean  as  if  Boxer,  the 
yard-dog,  had  been  at  it  in  his  hungriest  mood. 

"And  my  white  table-cloth — oh,  my  clean 
white  table-cloth!  What  can  have  been  done  to 
it?"  cried  she,  in  amazement.  For  it  had  all  over  it 
little  black  foot-marks,  just  the  size  of  a  baby's 
foot — only  babies  don't  wear  shoes  with  nails  in 
them,  and  don't  run  about  and  climb  on  kitchen 
tables  after  all  the  family  have  gone  to  bed. 

Cook  was  a  little  frightened;  but  her  fright 
changed  to  anger  when  she  saw  the  large  black  cat 


18  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

stretched  comfortably  on  the  hearth.  Poor  Muff 
had  crept  there  for  a  little  snooze  after  Brownie 
went  away. 

"You  horrid  cat!  I  see  it  all  now;  it's  you  that 
have  eaten  up  all  the  supper;  it's  you  that  have 
been  on  my  clean  table-cloth  with  your  dirty 
paws." 

They  were  white  paws,  and  as  clean  as  possi- 
ble; but  Cook  never  thought  of  that,  any  more  than 
she  did  of  the  fact  that  cats  don't  usually  drink 
cider  or  eat  apple-pudding*. 

"I'll  teach  you  to  come  stealing  food  in  this 
way;  take  that — and  that — and  that!" 

Cook  got  hold  of  a  broom  and  beat  poor  Pussy 
till  the  creature  ran  mewing  away.  She  couldn't 
speak,  you  know — unfortunate  cat!  and  tell  people 
that  it  was  Brownie  who  had  done  it  all. 

Next  night  Cook  thought  she  would  make  all 
safe  and  sure;  so,  instead  of  letting  the  cat  sleep 
by  the  fire,  she  shut  her  up  in  the  chilly  coal-cellar, 
locked  the  door,  put  the  key  in  her  pocket,  and  went 
off  to  bed — leaving  the  supper  as  before. 

When  Brownie  woke  up  and  looked  out  of  his 
hole,  there  was,  as  usual,  no  supper  for  him,  and 
the  cellar  was  close  shut.  He  peered  about,  to  try 
and  find  some  cranny  under  the  door  to  creep  out 
at,  but  there  was  none.    And  he  felt  so  hungry 


"HOW  DO  YOU  DO,  MRS.  PUSSY?' 


20  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

that  he  could  almost  have  eaten  the  cat,  who  kept 
walking  to  and  fro  in  a  melancholy  manner — only- 
she  was  alive,  and  he  couldn't  well  eat  her  alive: 
besides,  he  knew  she  was  old,  and  had  an  idea  she 
might  be  tough;  so  he  merely  said,  politely:  "How 
do  you  do,  Mrs.  Pussy?"  to  which  she  answered 
nothing — of  course. 

Something  must  be  done,  and  luckily  Brown- 
ies can  do  things  which  nobody  else  can  do.  So 
he  thought  he  would  change  himself  into  a  mouse, 
and  gnaw  a  hole  through  the  door.  But  then  he 
suddenly  remembered  the  cat,  who,  though  he  had 
decided  not  to  eat  her,  might  take  this  opportunity 
of  eating  him.  So  he  thought  it  advisable  to  wait 
till  she  was  fast  asleep,  which  did  not  happen  for 
a  good  while.  At  length,  quite  tired  with  walking 
about,  Pussy  turned  round  on  her  tail  six  times, 
curled  down  in  a  corner,  and  fell  fast  asleep. 

Immediately  Brownie  changed  himself  into 
the  smallest  mouse  possible;  and,  taking  care  not 
to  make  the  least  noise,  gnawed  a  hole  in  the  door, 
and  squeezed  himself  through,  immediately  turn- 
ing into  his  proper  shape  again,  for  fear  of  acci- 
dents. 

The  kitchen  fire  was  at  its  last  glimmer;  but 
it  showed  a  better  supper  than  even  last  night,  for 
the  Cook  had  had  friends  with  her — a  brother  and 
two   cousins — and   they   had   been    exceedingly 


BROWNIE  AND  THE  COOK  21 

merry.  The  food  they  had  left  behind  was  enough 
for  three  Brownies  at  least,  but  this  one  managed 
to  eat  it  all  up.  Only  once,  in  trying  to  cut  a  great 
slice  of  beef,  he  let  the  carving-knife  and  fork  fall 
with  such  a  clatter,  that  Tiny  the  terrier,  who  was 
tied  up  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs,  began  to  bark 
furiously.  However,  he  brought  her  her  puppy, 
which  had  been  left  in  a  basket  in  a  corner  of  the 
kitchen,  and  so  succeeded  in  quieting  her. 

After  that  he  enjoyed  himself  amazingly,  and 
made  more  marks  than  ever  on  the  white  table- 
cloth; for  he  began  jumping  about  like  a  pea  on 
a  trencher,  in  order  to  make  his  particularly  large 
supper  agree  with  him. 

Then,  in  the  absence  of  the  cat,  he  teased  the 
puppy  for  an  hour  or  two,  till,  hearing  the  clock 
strike  five,  he  thought  it  as  well  to  turn  into  a 
mouse  again,  and  creep  back  cautiously  into  his 
cellar.  He  was  only  just  in  time,  for  Muff  opened 
one  eye,  and  was  just  going  to  pounce  upon  him, 
when  he  changed  himself  back  into  a  Brownie. 
She  was  so  startled  that  she  bounded  away,  her 
tail  growing  into  twice  its  natural  size,  and  her 
eyes  gleaming  like  round  green  globes.  But 
Brownie  only  said,  "Ha,  ha,  ho!"  and  walked  de- 
liberately into  his  hole. 

When  Cook  came  down  stairs  and  saw  that 
the  same  thing  had  happened  again — that  the  sup- 


22  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

per  was  all  eaten,  and  the  table-cloth  blacker  than 
ever  with  the  extraordinary  foot-marks,  she  was 
greatly  puzzled.  Who  could  have  done  it?  Not 
the  cat,  who  came  mewing  out  of  the  coal-cellar 
the  minute  she  unlocked  the  door.  Possibly  a  rat — 
but  then  would  a  rat  have  come  within  reach  of 
Tiny? 

"It  must  have  been  Tiny  herself,  or  her 
puppy,"  which  just  came  rolling  out  of  its  basket 
over  Cook's  feet.  "You  little  wretch!  You  and 
your  mother  are  the  greatest  nuisance  imaginable. 
I'll  punish  you!" 

And,  quite  forgetting  that  Tiny  had  been 
safely  tied  up  all  night,  and  that  her  poor  little 
puppy  was  so  fat  and  helpless  it  could  scarcely 
stand  on  its  legs,  to  say  nothing  of  jumping  on 
chairs  and  tables,  she  gave  them  both  such  a 
thrashing  that  they  ran  howling  together  out  of 
the  kitchen  door,  where  the  kind  little  kitchen- 
maid  took  them  up  in  her  arms. 

"You  ought  to  have  beaten  the  Brownie,  if 
you  could  catch  him,"  said  she,  in  a  whisper.  "He'll 
do  it  again  and  again,  you'll  see,  for  he  can't  bear 
an  untidy  kitchen.  You'd  better  do  as  poor  old 
Cook  did,  and  clear  the  supper  things  away,  and 
put  the  odds  and  ends  safe  in  the  larder;  also," 
she  added,  mysteriously,  "if  I  were  you,  I'd  put  a 
bowl  of  milk  behind  the  coal-cellar  door." 


BROWNIE  AND  THE  COOK  23 

"Nonsense !"  answered  the  young  Cook,  and 
flounced  away.  But  afterwards  she  thought  bet- 
ter of  it,  and  did  as  she  was  advised,  grumbling 
all  the  time,  but  doing  it. 

Next  morning  the  milk  was  gone!  Perhaps 
Brownie  had  drunk  it  up,  anyhow  nobody  could 
say  that  he  hadn't.  As  for  the  supper,  Cook  hav- 
ing safely  laid  it  on  the  shelves  of  the  larder,  no- 
body touched  it.  And  the  table-cloth,  which  was 
wrapped  up  tidily  and  put  in  the  dresser  drawer, 
came  out  as  clean  as  ever,  with  not  a  single  black 
foot-mark  upon  it.  No  mischief  being  done,  the 
cat  and  the  dog  both  escaped  beating,  and  Brownie 
played  no  more  tricks  with  anybody — till  the  next 
time. 


BROWNIE  AND  THE  CHERRY-TREE 

THE  "next  time"  was  quick  in  coming,  which 
was  not  wonderful,  considering  there  was 
a  Brownie  in  the  house.  Otherwise  the  house  was 
like  most  other  houses,  and  the  family  like  most 
other  families.  The  children  also,  they  were  some- 
times good,  sometimes  naughty,  like  other  chil- 
dren; but,  on  the  whole,  they  deserved  to  have  the 
pleasure  of  a  Brownie  to  play  with  them,  as  they 
declared  he  did — many  and  many  a  time. 

A  favorite  play-place  was  the  orchard,  where 
grew  the  biggest  cherry-tree  you  ever  saw.  They 
called  it  their  "castle,"  because  it  rose  up  ten  feet 
from  the  ground  in  one  thick  stem,  and  then 
branched  out  into  a  circle  of  boughs,  with  a  flat 
place  in  the  middle,  where  two  or  three  children 
could  sit  at  once.  There  they  often  did  sit,  turn 
by  turn,  or  one  at  a  time — sometimes  with  a  book, 
reading;  and  the  biggest  boy  made  a  sort  of  rope- 
ladder  by  which  they  could  climb  up  and  down — 
which  they  did  all  winter,  and  enjoyed  their  "cas- 
tle" very  much. 

But  one  day  in  spring  they  found  their  ladder 

25 


26  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

cut  away!  The  Gardener  had  done  it,  saying  it 
injured  the  tree,  which  was  just  coming  into  blos- 
som. Now  this  Gardener  was  a  rather  gruff  man, 
with  a  growling  voice.  He  did  not  mean  to  be  un- 
kind, but  he  disliked  children;  he  said  they  both- 
ered him.  But  when  they  complained  to  their 
mother  about  the  ladder,  she  agreed  with  Garden- 
er that  the  tree  must  not  be  injured,  as  it  bore  the 
biggest  cherries  in  all  the  neighborhood — so  big 
that  the  old  saying  of  "taking  two  bites  at  a 
cherry,"  came  really  true. 

"Wait  till  the  cherries  are  ripe,"  said  she;  and 
so  the  little  people  waited,  and  watched  it  through 
its  leafing  and  blossoming — such  sheets  of  blos- 
som, white  as  snow! — till  the  fruit  began  to  show, 
and  grew  large  and  red  on  every  bough. 

At  last  one  morning  the  mother  said,  "Chil- 
dren, should  you  like  to  help  gather  the  cherries 
today?" 

"Hurrah!"  they  cried,  "and  not  a  day  too  soon; 
for  we  saw  a  flock  of  starlings  in  the  next  field — 
and  if  we  don't  clear  the  tree,  they  will." 

"Very  well;  clear  it,  then.  Only  mind  and  fill 
my  basket  quite  full,  for  preserving.  What  is  over 
you  may  eat,  if  you  like." 

"Thank  you,  thank  you!"  and  the  children 


BROWNIE  AND  THE  CHERRY-TREE        27 

were  eager  to  be  off;  but  the  mother  stopped  them 
till  she  could  get  the  Gardener  and  his  ladder. 

"For  it  is  he  who  must  climb  the  tree,  not  you; 
and  you  must  do  exactly  as  he  tells  you;  and  he 
will  stay  with  you  all  the  time  and  see  that  you 
don't  come  to  harm." 

This  was  no  slight  cloud  on  the  children's  hap- 
piness, and  they  begged  hard  to  go  alone. 

"Please,  might  we?   We  will  be  so  good!" 

The  mother  shook  her  head.  All  the  goodness 
in  the  world  would  not  help  them  if  they  tumbled 
off  the  tree,  or  ate  themselves  sick  with  cherries. 
"You  would  not  be  safe,  and  I  should  be  so  un- 
happy!" 

To  make  mother  "unhappy"  was  the  worst  re- 
buke possible  to  these  children;  so  they  choked 
down  their  disappointment,  and  followed  the  Gar- 
dener as  he  walked  on  ahead,  carrying  his  ladder 
on  his  shoulder.  He  looked  very  cross,  and  as  if  he 
did  not  like  the  children's  company  at  all. 

They  were  pretty  good,  on  the  whole,  though 
they  chattered  a  good  deal;  but  Gardener  said  not 
a  word  to  them  all  the  way  to  the  orchard. 

When  they  reached  it,  he  just  told  them  to 
"keep  out  of  his  way  and  not  worrit  him,"  which 
they  politely  promised,  saying  among  themselves 


28  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

that  they  should  not  enjoy  their  cherry-gathering 
at  all.  But  children  who  make  the  best  of  things, 
and  try  to  be  as  good  as  they  can,  sometimes  have 
fun  unawares. 

When  the  Gardener  was  steadying  his  ladder 
against  the  trunk  of  the  cherry-tree,  there  was 
suddenly  heard  the  barking  of  a  dog,  and  a  very 
fierce  dog,  too.  First  it  seemed  close  beside  them, 
then  in  the  flower-garden,  then  in  the  fowl-yard. 

Gardener  dropped  the  ladder  out  of  his  hands. 
"It's  that  Boxer!  He  has  gotten  loose  again!  He 
will  be  running  after  my  chickens,  and  dragging 
his  broken  chain  all  over  my  borders.  He'll  bite 
anybody  who  ties  him  up,  except  me." 

"Hadn't  you  better  go  and  see  after  him?" 

"Gardener  thought  it  was  the  eldest  boy  who 
spoke,  and  turned  round  angrily;  but  the  little  fel- 
low had  never  opened  his  lips. 

Here  there  was  heard  a  still  louder  bark,  and 
from  quite  a  different  part  of  the  garden. 

"There  he  is — I'm  sure  of  it!  jumping  over 
my  bedding-out  plants,  and  breaking  my  cucum- 
ber frames.  Abominable  beast! — just  let  me  catch 
him!" 

Off  Gardener  darted  in  a  violent  passion, 
throwing  the  ladder  down  upon  the  grass,  and  for- 
getting all  about  the  cherries  and  the  children. 


BROWNIE  AND  THE  CHERRY-TREE         29 

The  instant  he  was  gone,  a  shrill  laugh,  loud 
and  merry,  was  heard  close  by,  and  a  little  brown 
old  man's  face  peeped  from  behind  the  cherry- 
tree. 

"How  d'ye  do? — Boxer  was  I.  Didn't  I  bark 
well?    Now  I've  come  to  play  with  you." 

The  children  clapped  their  hands;  for  they 
knew  they  were  going  to  have  some  fun  if 
Brownie  was  there — he  was  the  best  little  play- 
fellow in  the  world.  And  then  they  had  him  all 
to  themselves.  Nobody  ever  saw  him  except  the 
children. 

"Come  on!"  cried  he,  in  his  shrill  voice,  half 
like  an  old  man's,  half  like  a  baby's.  "Who'll  be- 
gin to  gather  the  cherries?" 

They  all  looked  blank;  for  the  tree  was  so  high 
to  where  the  branches  sprung,  and  besides,  their 
mother  had  said  they  were  not  to  climb.  And  the 
ladder  lay  flat  upon  the  grass — far  too  heavy  for 
little  hands  to  move. 

"What!  you  big  boys  don't  expect  a  poor  little 
fellow  like  me  to  lift  the  ladder  all  by  myself?  Try! 
I'll  help  you." 

Whether  he  helped  or  not,  no  sooner  had  they 
taken  hold  of  the  ladder  than  it  rose  up,  almost 
of  its  own  accord,  and  fixed  itself  quite  safely 
against  the  tree. 


30  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

"But  we  must  not  climb — mother  told  us  not," 
said  the  boys,  ruefully.  "Mother  said  we  were  to 
stand  at  the  bottom  and  pick  up  the  cherries." 

"Very  well.  Obey  your  mother.  Til  just  run  up 
the  tree  myself." 

Before  the  words  were  out  of  his  mouth 
Brownie  had  darted  up  the  ladder  like  a  monkey, 
and  disappeared  among  the  fruit-laden  branches. 

The  children  looked  dismayed  for  a  minute, 
till  they  saw  a  merry  brown  face  peeping  out  from 
the  green  leaves  at  the  very  top  of  the  tree. 

"Biggest  fruit  always  grows  highest,"  cried 
the  Brownie.  "Stand  in  a  row,  all  you  children.  Lit- 
tle boys,  hold  out  your  caps:  little  girls,  make  a 
bag  of  your  pinafores.  Open  your  mouths  and 
shut  your  eyes,  and  see  what  the  queen  will  send 


you." 


They  laughed  and  did  as  they  were  told;  where- 
upon they  were  drowned  in  a  shower  of  cherries — 
cherries  falling  like  hailstones,  hitting  them  on 
their  heads,  their  cheeks,  their  noses — filling  their 
caps  and  pinafores,  and  then  rolling  and  tumbling 
on  to  the  grass,  till  it  was  strewn  thick  as  leaves 
in  autumn  with  the  rosy  fruit. 

What  a  glorious  scramble  they  had — these 
three  little  boys  and  three  little  girls!   How  they 


V 
/; 


HE  HELPED  TO  PICK  UP  THE  CHERRIES 


32  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

laughed  and  jumped  and  knocked  heads  together 
in  picking  up  the  cherries,  yet  never  quarreled — 
for  there  were  such  heaps,  it  would  have  been  ri- 
diculous to  squabble  over  them;  and  besides,  when- 
ever they  began  to  quarrel,  Brownie  always  ran 
away.  Now  he  was  the  merriest  of  the  lot;  ran  up 
and  down  the  tree  like  a  cat,  helped  to  pick  up 
cherries,  and  was  first-rate  at  filling  the  large  mar- 
ket-basket. 

"We  were  to  eat  as  many  as  we  liked,  only  we 
must  first  fill  the  basket,"  conscientiously  said  the 
eldest  girl;  upon  which  they  all  set  to  at  once,  and 
filled  it  to  the  brim. 

"Now  we'll  have  a  dinner-party,"  cried  the 
Brownie;  and  squatted  down  like  a  Turk,  crossing 
his  queer  little  legs,  and  sticking  his  elbows  upon 
his  knees,  in  a  way  that  nobody  but  a  Brownie 
could  manage.  "Sit  in  a  ring!  sit  in  a  ring!  and 
we'll  see  who  can  eat  fastest." 

The  children  obeyed.  How  many  cherries  they 
devoured,  and  how  fast  they  did  it,  passes  my  ca- 
pacity of  telling.  I  only  hope  they  were  not  ill  next 
day,  and  that  all  the  cherry-stones  they  swallowed 
by  mistake  did  not  disagree  with  them.  But  per- 
haps nothing  does  disagree  with  one  when  one 
dines  with  a  Brownie.  They  ate  so  much,  laughing 
in  equal  proportion,  that  they  had  quite  forgotten 


BROWNIE  AND  THE  CHERRY-TREE        33 

the  Gardener — when,  all  of  a  sudden,  they  heard 
him  clicking  angrily  the  orchard  gate,  and  talking 
to  himself  as  he  walked  through. 

"That  horrid  dog!  It  wasn't  Boxer,  after  all. 
A  nice  joke!  to  find  him  quietly  asleep  in  his  kennel 
after  having  hunted  him,  as  I  thought,  from  one 
end  of  the  garden  to  the  other!  Now  for  the  cher- 
ries and  the  children — bless  us,  where  are  the  chil- 
dren? And  the  cherries?  Why,  the  tree  is  as  bare 
as  a  blackthorn  in  February!  The  starlings  have 
been  at  it,  after  all.    Oh  dear!  oh  dear!" 

"Oh  dear!  oh  dear!"  echoed  a  voice  from  be- 
hind the  tree,  followed  by  shouts  of  mocking 
laughter.  Not  from  the  children — they  sat  as  de- 
mure as  possible,  all  in  a  ring,  with  their  hands  be- 
fore them,  and  in  the  centre  the  huge  basket  of 
cherries,  piled  as  full  as  it  could  possibly  hold. 
But  the  Brownie  had  disappeared. 

"You  naughty  children,  I'll  have  you  pun- 
ished!" cried  the  Gardener,  furious  at  the  laughter, 
for  he  never  laughed  himself.  But  as  there  was 
nothing  wrong;  the  cherries  being  gathered — a 
very  large  crop — and  the  ladder  found  safe  in  its 
place — it  was  difficult  to  say  what  had  been  the 
harm  done  and  who  had  done  it. 

So  he  went  growling  back  to  the  house,  carry- 
ing the  cherries  to  the  mistress,  who  coaxed  him 


34 


ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 


into  good  temper  again,  as  she  sometimes  did; 
bidding  also  the  children  to  behave  well  to  him, 
since  he  was  an  old  man,  and  not  really  bad — only 
cross.  As  for  the  little  folks,  she  had  not  the  slight- 
est intention  of  punishing  them;  and,  as  for 
Brownie,  it  was  impossible  to  catch  him.  So  no- 
body was  punished  at  all. 


BROWNIE  IN  THE  FARM-YARD 

WHICH  was  a  place  where  he  did  not  often  go, 
for  he  preferred  being  warm  and  snug  in 
the  house.  But  when  he  felt  himself  ill-used,  he 
would  wander  anywhere,  in  order  to  play  tricks 
upon  those  who  he  thought  had  done  him  harm; 
for,  being  a  Brownie,  and  not  a  man,  he  did  not 
understand  that  the  best  way  to  revenge  yourself 
upon  your  enemies  is  either  to  let  them  alone  or  to 
pay  them  back  good  for  evil — it  disappoints  them 
so  much,  and  makes  them  so  exceedingly  ashamed 
of  themselves. 

One  day  Brownie  overheard  the  Gardener  ad- 
vising the  Cook  to  put  sour  milk  into  his  bowl  at 
night,  instead  of  sweet. 

"He'd  never  find  out  the  difference,  no  more 
than  the  pigs  do.  Indeed,  it's  my  belief  that  a  pig, 
or  dog,  or  something,  empties  the  bowl,  and  not  a 
Brownie  at  all.  It's  just  clean  waste — that's  what 
I  say." 

"Then  you'd  better  hold  your  tongue,  and  mind 
your  own  business,"  returned  the  Cook,  who  was 

35 


36  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

of  a  sharp  temper,  and  would  not  stand  being 
meddled  with.  She  began  to  abuse  the  Gardener 
soundly;  but  his  wife,  who  was  standing  by,  took 
his  part,  as  she  always  did  when  any  third  party 
scolded  him.  So  they  all  squabbled  together,  till 
Brownie,  hid  under  his  coal,  put  his  little  hands 
over  his  little  ears. 

"Dear  me,  what  a  noise  these  mortals  do  make 
when  they  quarrel !  They  quite  deafen  me.  I  must 
teach  them  better  manners." 

But  when  the  Cook  slammed  the  door  to,  and 
left  the  Gardener  and  his  wife  alone,  they  too  be- 
gan to  dispute  between  themselves. 

"You  make  such  a  fuss  over  your  ugly  pigs, 
and  get  all  the  scraps  for  them,"  said  the  wife.  "It's 
of  much  more  importance  that  I  should  have  every 
thing  Cook  can  spare  for  my  chickens.  Never  were 
such  fine  chickens  as  my  last  brood!" 

"I  thought  they  were  ducklings." 

"How  you  catch  me  up,  you  rude  old  man! 
They  are  ducklings,  and  beauties,  too — even 
though  they  have  never  seen  water.  Where's  the 
pond  you  promised  to  make  for  me,  I  wonder?" 

"Rubbish,  woman!  If  my  cows  do  without  a 
pond,  your  ducklings  may.  And  why  will  you  be 
so  silly  as  to  rear  ducklings  at  all?   Fine  fat  chick- 


BROWNIE  IN  THE  FARM-YARD  37 

ens  are  a  deal  better.   You'll  find  out  your  mistake 
some  day." 

"And  so  will  you  when  that  old  Alderney  runs 
dry.  You'll  wish  you  had  taken  my  advice,  and 
fattened  and  sold  her." 

"Alderney  cows  won't  sell  for  fattening,  and 
women's  advice  is  never  worth  two-pence.  Yours 
isn't  worth  even  a  half-penny.  What  are  you 
laughing*  at?" 

"I  wasn't  laughing,"  said  the  wife,  angrily; 
and,  in  truth,  it  was  not  she,  but  little  Brownie, 
running  under  the  barrow  which  the  Gardener 
was  wheeling  along,  and  very  much  amused  that 
people  should  be  so  silly  as  to  squabble  about  noth- 
ing. 

It  was  still  early  morning;  for,  whatever  this 
old  couple's  faults  might  be,  laziness  was  not  one 
of  them.  The  wife  rose  with  the  dawn  to  feed  her 
poultry  and  collect  her  eggs;  the  husband  also  got 
through  as  much  work  by  breakfast-time  as  many 
an  idle  man  does  by  noon.  But  Brownie  had  been 
beforehand  with  them  this  day. 

When  all  the  fowls  came  running  to  be  fed, 
the  big  Brahma  hen  who  had  hatched  the  duck- 
lings was  seen  wandering  forlornly  about,  and 
clucking  mournfully  for  her  young  brood — she 


TO  FEED  HER  POULTRY  AND  COLLECT  HER  EGGS 


BROWNIE  IN  THE  FARM- YARD  39 

could  not  find  them  anywhere.  Had  she  been 
able  to  speak,  she  might  have  told  how  a  large 
white  Aylesbury  duck  had  waddled  into  the  farm- 
yard, and  waddled  out  again,  coaxing  them  after 
her,  no  doubt  in  search  of  a  pond.  But  missing 
they  were,  most  certainly. 

"Cluck,  cluck,  cluck!"  mourned  the  miserable 
hen-mother — and,  "Oh,  my  ducklings",  my  duck- 
lings!" cried  the  Gardener's  wife — "Who  can  have 
carried  off  my  beautiful  ducklings?" 

"Rats,  maybe,"  said  the  Gardener,  cruelly,  as 
he  walked  away.  And  as  he  went  he  heard  the 
squeak  of  a  rat  below  his  wheelbarrow.  But  he 
could  not  catch  it,  any  more  tHan  his  wife  could 
catch  the  Aylesbury  duck.  Of  course  not.  Both 
were — the  Brownie! 

Just  at  this  moment  the  six  little 'people  came 
running  into  the  farm-yard.  When  they  had  been 
particularly  good,  they  were  sometimes  allowed 
to  go  with  Gardener  a-milking,  each  carrying  his 
or  her  own  mug  for  a  drink  of  milk,  warm  from  the 
cow.  They  scampered  after  him — a  noisy  tribe, 
begging  to  be  taken  down  to  the  field,  and  holding 
out  their  six  mugs  entreatingly. 

"What!  six  cupfuls  of  milk,  when  I  haven't  a 
drop  to  spare,  and  Cook  is  always  wanting  more? 
Ridiculous  nonsense!  Get  along  with  you;  you  may 


40  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

come  to  the  field — I  can't  hinder  that — but  you'll 
get  no  milk  this  day.  Take  your  mugs  back  again 
to  the  kitchen." 

The  poor  little  folks  made  the  best  of  a  bad 
business,  and  obeyed;  then  they  followed  Gardener 
down  to  the  field,  rather  dolefully.  But  it  was  such 
a  beautiful  morning  that  they  soon  recovered 
their  spirits.  The  grass  shone  with  dew,  like  a 
sheet  of  diamonds,  the  clover  smelled  so  sweet,  and 
two  skylarks  were  singing  at  one  another  high  up 
in  the  sky.  Several  rabbits  darted  past,  to  their 
great  amusement,  especially  one  very  large  rab- 
bit— brown,  not  gray — which  dodged  them  in  and 
out,  and  once  nearly  threw  Gardener  down,  pail 
and  all,  by  running  across  his  feet;  which  set  them 
all  laughing,  till  they  came  to  where  Dolly,  the  cow, 
lay  chewing  the  cud  under  a  large  oak-tree. 

It  was  great  fun  to  stir  her  up,  as  usual,  and 
lie  down,  one  after  the  other,  in  the  place  where  she 
had  lain  all  night  long,  making  the  grass  flat,  and 
warm,  and  perfumy  with  her  sweet  breath.  She 
let  them  do  it,  and  then  stood  meekly  by;  for  Dolly 
was  the  gentlest  cow  in  the  world. 

But  this  morning  something  strange  seemed 
to  possess  her.  She  altogether  refused  to  be  milked 
— kicked,  plunged,  tossed  over  the  pail,  which  was 
luckily  empty. 


BROWNIE  IN  THE  FARM- YARD  41 

"Bless  the  cow!  what's  wrong  with  her?  It's 
surely  you  children's  fault.  Stand  off,  the  whole 
lot  of  you.   Nice  Dolly!  good  Dolly!" 

But  Dolly  was  anything  but  good.  She  stood 
switching  her  tail,  and  looking  as  savage  as  so 
mild  an  animal  possibly  could  look. 

"It's  all  your  doing,  you  naughty  children! 
You  have  been  playing  her  some  trick,  I  know," 
cried  the  Gardener,  in  great  wrath. 

They  assured  him  they  had  done  nothing,  and, 
indeed,  they  looked  as  quiet  as  mice  and  as  inno- 
cent as  lambs.  At  length  the  biggest  boy  pointed 
out  a  large  wasp  which  had  settled  in  Dolly's  ear. 

But  it  did  not  mend  everything;  for  when  he 
tried  to  drive  it  away  it  kept  coming  back  and 
back  again,  and  buzzing  round  his  own  head  and 
the  cow's,  with  a  voice  that  the  children  thought 
was  less  like  the  buzz  of  a  wasp  than  the  sound 
of  a  person  laughing.  At  length  it  frightened 
Dolly  to  such  an  extent  that,  with  one  wild  bound 
she  darted  right  away,  and  galloped  off  to  the 
farther  end  of  the  field. 

"That  accounts  for  everything,"  said  the 
Gardener. 

"I'll  get  a  rope  and  tie  her  legs  together,"  cried 
the  Gardener,  fiercely.  "She  shall  repent  giving 
me  all  this  trouble — that  she  shall]" 


42  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

"Ha,  ha,  ha!"  laughed  somebody.  The  Garde- 
ner thought  it  was  the  children,  and  gave  one  of 
them  an  angry  cuff  as  he  walked  away.  But  they 
knew  it  was  somebody  else,  and  were  not  at  all  sur- 
prised when,  the  minute  his  back  was  turned, 
Dolly  came  walking  quietly  back,  led  by  a  little  wee 
brown  man  who  scarcely  reached  up  to  her  knees. 
Yet  she  let  him  guide  her,  which  he  did  as  gently 
as  possible,  though  the  string  he  held  her  by  was  no 
thicker  than  a  spider  web,  floating  from  one  of  her 
horns. 

"Nice  Dolly!  good  Dolly!"  cried  Brownie,  mim- 
icking the  Gardener's  voice.  "Now  we'll  see  what 
we  can  do.  I  want  my  breakfast  badly — don't  you, 
little  folks?" 

Of  course  they  did,  for  the  morning  air  made 
them  very  hungry. 

"Very  well — wait  a  bit,  though.  Old  people 
should  be  served  first,  you  know.  Besides,  I  want 
to  go  to  bed." 

Go  to  bed  in  the  daylight!  The  children  all 
laughed,  and  then  looked  quite  shy  and  sorry,  lest 
they  might  have  seemed  rude  to  the  little  Brownie. 
But  he — he  liked  fun — and  never  took  offense 
when  none  was  meant. 

He  placed  himself  on  the  milking-stool,  which 
was  so  high  that  his  little  legs  were  dangling  half- 


HE  PLACED  HIMSELF  ON  THE  MILKING  STOOL 


44  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

way  down,  and  milked  and  milked — Dolly  stand- 
ing* as  still  as  possible — till  he  had  filled  the  whole 
pail.  Most  astonishing  cow!  she  gave  as  much  as 
two  cows;  and  such  delicious  milk  as  it  was — all 
frothing  and  yellow — richer  than  even  Dolly's 
milk  had  ever  been  before.  The  children's  mouths 
watered  for  it,  but  not  a  word  said  they — even 
when,  instead  of  giving  it  to  them,  Brownie  put 
his  own  mouth  to  the  pail,  and  drank  and  drank, 
till  it  seemed  as  if  he  were  never  going  to  stop. 
But  it  was  decidedly  a  relief  to  them  when  he 
popped  his  head  up  again,  and  lo!  the  pail  was  as 
full  as  ever! 

"Now,  little  ones,  now's  your  turn.  Where 
are  your  mugs?" 

All  answered  mournfully,  "WeVe  got  none. 
Gardener  made  us  take  them  back  again." 

"Never  mind — all  right.  Gather  me  half  a 
dozen  of  the  biggest  buttercups  you  can  find." 

"What  nonsense!"  thought  the  children;  but 
they  did  it.  Brownie  laid  the  flowers  in  a  row  upon 
the  eldest  girl's  lap — blew  upon  them  one  by  one, 
and  each  turned  into  the  most  beautiful  golden  cup 
that  ever  was  seen ! 

"Now,  then,  every  one  take  his  own  mug,  and 
I'll  fill  it." 


BROWNIE  IN  THE  FARM- YARD  45 

He  milked  away — each  child  got  a  drink,  and 
then  the  cups  were  filled  again.  And  all  the  while 
Dolly  stood  as  quiet  as  possible — looking  benignly 
round,  as  if  she  would  be  happy  to  supply  milk  to 
the  whole  parish,  if  the  Brownie  desired  it. 

"Nice  Dolly!  Thank  you,  Dolly  !"  said  he,  again, 
mimicking  the  Gardener's  voice,  half  growling, 
half  coaxing.  And  while  he  spoke,  the  real  voice 
was  heard  behind  the  hedge.  There  was  a  sound 
as  of  a  great  wasp  flying  away,  which  made  Dolly 
prick  up  her  ears,  and  look  as  if  the  old  savageness 
was  coming  back  upon  her.  The  children  snatched 
up  their  mugs,  but  there  was  no  need,  they  had  all 
turned  into  buttercups  again. 

Gardener  jumped  over  the  stile,  as  cross  as  two 
sticks,  with  an  old  rope  in  his  hand. 

"Oh,  what  a  bother  I've  had.  Breakfast  ready, 
and  no  milk  yet — and  such  a  row  as  they  are  mak- 
ing over  those  lost  ducklings.  Stand  back,  you 
children,  and  don't  hinder  me  a  minute.  No  use 
begging — not  a  drop  of  milk  shall  you  get.  Hello, 
Dolly?   Quiet,  old  girl!" 

Quiet  enough  she  was  this  time — but  you 
might  as  well  have  milked  a  plaster  cow  in  a  Lon- 
don milkshop.  Not  one  ringing  drop  resounded 
against  the  empty  pail;  for,  when  they  peeped  in, 


46  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

the  children  saw,  to  their  amazement,  that  it  was 
empty. 

"The  creature's  bewitched!"  cried  the  Garde- 
ner, in  a  great  fury.  "Or  else  somebody  has  milked 
her  dry  already.  Have  you  done  it?  or  you?"  he 
asked  each  of  the  children. 

They  might  have  said  No — which  was  the  lit- 
eral truth — but  then  it  would  not  have  been  the 
whole  truth,  for  they  knew  quite  well  that  Dolly 
had  been  milked,  and  also  who  had  done  it.  And 
their  mother  had  always  taught  them  that  to  make 
a  person  believe  a  lie  is  nearly  as  bad  as  telling 
him  one.  Yet  still  they  did  not  like  to  betray  the 
kind  little  Brownie.  Greatly  puzzled,  they  hung 
their  heads  and  said  nothing. 

"Look  in  your  pail  again,"  cried  a  voice  from 
the  other  side  of  Dolly.  And  there  at  the  bottom 
was  just  the  usual  quantity  of  milk — no  more  and 
no  less. 

The  Gardener  was  very  much  astonished.  "It 
must  be  the  Brownie!"  muttered  he,  in  a  frightened 
tone,  and,  taking  off  his  hat,  "Thank  you,  sir," 
said  he  to  Mr.  Nobody — at  which  the  children  all 
burst  out  laughing.  But  they  kept  their  own  coun- 
sel, and  he  was  afraid  to  ask  them  any  more  ques- 
tions. 


BROWNIE  IN  THE  FARM- YARD  47 

By-and-by  his  fright  wore  off  a  little.  "I  only 
hope  the  milk  is  good  milk,  and  will  poison  no- 
body," said  he,  sulkily.  "However,  that's  not  my 
affair.  You  children  had  better  tell  your  mother 
all  about  it.  I  left  her  in  the  farm-yard  in  a  pretty 
state  of  mind  about  her  ducklings." 

Perhaps  Brownie  heard  this,  and  was  sorry, 
for  he  liked  the  children's  mother,  who  had  always 
been  kind  to  him.  Besides,  he  never  did  anybody 
harm  who  did  not  deserve  it;  and  though,  being  a 
Brownie,  he  could  hardly  be  said  to  have  a  con- 
science, he  had  something  which  stood  in  the  place 
of  one — a  liking  to  see  people  happy  rather  than 
miserable. 

So,  instead  of  going  to  bed  under  his  big  coal 
for  the  day,  when,  after  breakfast,  the  children 
and  their  mother  came  out  to  look  at  a  new  brood 
of  chickens,  he  crept  after  them  and  hid  behind 
the  hen-coop  where  the  old  mother-hen  was  put, 
with  her  young  ones  round  her. 

There  had  been  great  difficulty  in  getting  her 
in  there,  for  she  was  a  hen  who  hatched  her  brood 
on  independent  principles.  Instead  of  sitting  upon 
the  nice  nest  that  Gardener  made  for  her,  she  had 
twice  gone  into  a  little  wood  close  by  and  made  a 
nest  for  herself,  which  nobody  could  ever  find; 
and  where  she  hatched  in  secret,  coming  every 


SHE  HAD  MADE  A  NEST  FOR  HERSELF 


BROWNIE  IN  THE  FARM- YARD  49 

second  day  to  be  fed,  and  then  vanishing  again, 
till  at  last  she  re-appeared  in  triumph,  with  her 
chickens  running  after  her.  In  the  first  brood  there 
had  been  twelve,  but  of  this  there  were  fourteen — 
all  from  her  own  eggs,  of  course,  and  she  was  un- 
commonly proud  of  them.  So  was  the  Gardener, 
so  was  the  mistress — who  liked  all  young  things. 

Such  a  picture  as  they  were!  fourteen  soft,  yel- 
low, fluffy  things,  running  about  after  their 
mother.  It  had  been  a  most  troublesome  business 
to  catch — first  her,  and  then  them,  to  put  them 
under  the  coop.  The  old  hen  resisted,  and  pecked 
furiously  at  Gardener's  legs,  and  the  chickens  ran 
about  in  frantic  terror,  chirping  wildly  in  answer 
to  her  clucking. 

At  last,  however,  the  little  family  was  safe  in 
shelter,  and  the  chickens  counted  over,  to  see  that 
none  had  been  lost  in  the  scuffle.  How  funny  they 
were!  looking  so  innocent  and  yet  so  wise,  as 
chickens  do — peering  out  at  the  world  from  under 
their  mother's  wing,  or  hopping  over  her  back,  or 
snuggled  all  together  under  her  breast,  so  that 
nothing  was  seen  of  them  but  a  mass  of  yellow 
legs,  like  a  great  centipede. 

"How  happy  the  old  hen  is,"  said  the  children's 
mother,  looking  on,  and  then  looking  compassion- 
ately at  that  other  forlorn  old  hen,  who  had 


50  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

hatched  the  ducklings,  and  kept  wandering  about 
the  farm-yard,  clucking  miserably,  "Those  poor 
ducklings,  what  can  have  become  of  them?  If  rats 
had  killed  them,  we  should  have  found  feathers  or 
something;  and  weasels  would  have  sucked  their 
brains  and  left  them.  They  must  have  been  stolen, 
or  wandered  away,  and  died  of  cold  and  hunger— 
my  poor  ducklings!" 

The  mistress  sighed,  for  she  could  not  bear 
any  living  thing  to  suffer.  And  the  children  nearly 
cried  at  the  thought  of  what  might  be  happening 
to  their  pretty  ducklings.  That  very  minute  a  lit- 
tle wee  brown  face  peered  through  a  hole  in  the 
hen-coop,  making  the  old  mother-hen  fly  furiously 
at  it — as  she  did  at  the  slightest  shadow  of  an  ene- 
my to  her  little  ones.  However,  no  harm  happened 
— only  a  guinea-fowl  suddenly  ran  across  the 
farm-yard,  screaming  in  its  usualharsh  voice.  But 
it  was  not  the  usual  sort  of  a  guinea-fowl,  being 
larger  and  handsomer  than  any  of  theirs. 

"Oh,  what  a  beauty  of  a  creature!  how  did  it 
ever  come  into  our  farm-yard/'  cried  the  delight- 
ed children;  and  started  off  after  it,  to  catch  it,  if 
possible. 

But  they  ran,  and  they  ran — through  the  gate 
and  out  into  the  lane;  and  the  guinea-fowl  still  ran 
on  before  them,  until,  turning  round  a  corner,  they 


BROWNIE  IN  THE  FARM- YARD  51 

lost  sight  of  it,  and  immediately  saw  something 
else,  equally  curious.  Sitting  on  the  top  of  a  big 
thistle — so  big  that  he  must  have  had  to  climb  it 
just  like  a  tree — was  the  Brownie.  His  legs  were 
crossed,  and  his  arms  too;  his  little  brown  cap  was 
stuck  knowingly  on  one  side,  and  he  was  laughing 
heartily. 

"How  do  you  do?  Here  I  am  again.  I  thought 
I  wouldn't  go  to  bed  after  all.  Shall  I  help  you  to 
find  the  ducklings?   Very  well!  come  along." 

They  crossed  the  field,  Brownie  running  beside 
them,  and  as  fast  as  they  could,  though  he  looked 
such  an  old  man;  and  sometimes  turning  over  on 
legs  and  arms  like  a  Catherine  wheel — which  they 
tried  to  imitate,  but  generally  failed,  and  only 
bruised  their  fingers  and  noses. 

He  lured  them  on  and  on  till  they  came  to  the 
wood,  and  to  a  green  path  in  it,  which,  well  as  they 
knew  the  neighborhood,  none  of  the  children  had 
ever  seen  before.  It  led  to  a  most  beautiful  pond, 
as  clear  as  crystal  and  as  blue  as  the  sky.  Large 
trees  grew  round  it,  dipping  their  branches  in  the 
water,  (as  if  they  were  looking  at  themselves  in  a 
glass.  And  all  about  their  roots  were  quantities  of 
primroses — the  biggest  primroses  the  little  girls 
had  ever  seen.  Down  they  dropped  on  their  fat 
knees,  crushing  more  primroses  than  they  gath- 


52  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

ered,  though  they  tried  to  gather  them  all;  and  the 
smallest  child  even  began  to  cry  because  her  hands 
were  so  full  that  the  flowers  dropped  through  her 
fingers.  But  the  boys,  older  and  more  practical, 
rather  despised  primroses. 

"I  thought  we  had  come  to  look  for  ducklings," 
said  the  eldest.  Mother  is  fretting  dreadfully 
about  her  ducklings.    Where  can  they  be?" 

"Shut  your  eyes,  and  you'll  see,"  said  the 
Brownie,  at  which  they  all  laughed,  but  did  it;  and 
when  they  opened  their  eyes  again,  what  should 
they  behold  but  a  whole  brood  of  ducklings  sail- 
ing out  from  the  roots  of  an  old  willow-tree,  one 
after  the  other,  looking  as  fat  and  content  as  possi- 
ble, and  swimming  as  naturally  as  if  they  had  lived 
on  a  pond — and  this  particular  pond,  all  their  days. 

"Count  them,"  said  the  Brownie,  "the  whole 
eight — quite  correct.  And  then  try  and  catch  them 
— if  you  can." 

Easier  said  than  done.  The  boys  set  to  work 
with  great  satisfaction — boys  do  so  enjoy  hunting 
something.  They  coaxed  them — they  shouted  at 
them — they  threw  little  sticks  at  them;  but  as  soon 
as  they  wanted  them  to  go  one  way  the  ducklings 
immediately  turned  round  and  sailed  another  way, 
doing  it  so  deliberately  and  majestically,  that  the 
children  could  not  help  laughing.    As  for  little 


BROWNIE  IN  THE  FARM- YARD  53 

Brownie,  he  sat  on  a  branch  of  the  willow-tree,  with 
his  legs  dangling  down  to  the  surface  of  the  pond, 
kicking  at  the  water-spiders,  and  grinning  with  all 
his  might.  At  length,  quite  tired  out,  in  spite  of 
their  fun,  the  children  begged  for  his  help,  and  he 
took  compassion  on  them. 

"Turn  round  three  times  and  see  what  you  can 
find,"  shouted  he. 

Immediately  each  little  boy  found  in  his  arms, 
and  each  little  girl  in  her  pinafore,  a  fine  fat  duck- 
ling. And  there  being  eight  of  them,  the  two  elder 
children  had  each  a  couple.  They  were  rather  cold 
and  damp,  and  slightly  uncomfortable  to  cuddle, 
ducks  not  being  used  to  cuddling.  Poor  things! 
they  struggled  hard  to  get  away.  But  the  children 
hugged  them  tight,  and  ran  as  fast  as  their  legs 
could  carry  them  through  the  wood,  forgetting,  in 
their  joy,  even  to  say  "Thank  you"  to  the  little 
Brownie. 

When  they  reached  their  mother  she  was  as 
glad  as  they,  for  she  never  thought  to  see  her  duck- 
lings again;  and  to  have  them  back  all  alive  and 
uninjured,  and  watch  them  running  to  the  old  hen, 
who  received  them  with  an  ecstasy  of  delight,  was 
so  exciting,  that  nobody  thought  of  asking  a  single 
question  as  to  where  they  had  been  found. 

When  the  mother  did  ask,  the  children  told 
her  all  about  Brownie's  taking  them  to  the  beauti- 


54  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

ful  pond — and  what  a  wonderful  pond  it  was;  how 
green  the  trees  were  round  it;  and  how  large  the 
primroses  grew.  They  never  tired  of  talking  about 
it  and  seeking  for  it.  But  the  odd  thing  was  that, 
seek  as  they  might,  they  never  could  find  it  again. 
Many  a  day  did  the  little  people  roam  about  one  by 
one,  or  all  together,  round  the  wood,  and  across 
the  wood,  and  up  and  down  the  wood,  often  getting 
themselves  sadly  draggled  with  mud  and  torn 
with  brambles — but  the  beautiful  pond  they  never 
found  again. 

Nor  did  the  ducklings,  I  suppose;  for  they 
wandered  no  more  from  the  farm-yard,  to  the  old 
mother-hen's  great  content.  They  grew  up  into 
fat  and  respectable  ducks — five  white  ones  and 
three  gray  ones — waddling  about,  very  content, 
though  they  never  saw  water,  except  the  tank 
which  was  placed  for  them  to  paddle  in.  They  lived 
a  lazy,  peaceful,  pleasant  life  for  a  long  time,  and 
were  at  last  killed  and  eaten  with  green  peas,  one 
after  the  other,  to  the  family's  great  satisfaction, 
if  not  their  own. 


HE  WAS  NO  BIGGER  THAN  A  DONKEY 


BROWNIE'S  RIDE 

FOR  the  little  Brownie,  though  not  given  to 
horsemanship,  did  once  take  a  ride,  and  a  very 
remarkable  one  it  was.   Shall  I  tell  you  all  about  it? 

The  six  little  children  got  a  present  of  some- 
thing they  had  longed  for  all  their  lives — a  pony. 
Not  a  rocking-horse,  but  a  real  live  pony — a  Shet- 
land pony,  too,  which  had  traveled  all  the  way  from 
the  Shetland  Isles  to  Devonshire — where  every- 
body wondered  at  it,  for  such  a  creature  had  not 
been  seen  in  the  neighborhood  for  years  and  years. 

She  was  no  bigger  than  a  donkey,  and  her  coat, 
instead  of  being  smooth  like  a  horsed,  was  shaggy 
like  a  young  bear's.  She  had  a  long  tail,  which  had 
never  been  cut,  and  such  a  deal  of  hair  in  her  mane 
and  over  her  eyes  that  it  gave  her  quite  a  fierce 
countenance.  In  fact,  among  the  mild  and  tame 
Devonshire  beasts,  the  little  Shetland  pony  looked 
almost  like  a  wild  animal.  But  in  reality  she  was 
the  gentlest  creature  in  the  world. 

Before  she  had  been  many  days  with  them,  she 
began  to  know  the  children  quite  well;  followed 
them  about,  ate  corn  out  of  the  bowl  they  held  out 

57 


58  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

to  her;  nay,  one  day,  when  the  eldest  little  girl  of- 
fered her  bread-and-butter,  she  stooped  her  head 
and  took  it  from  the  child's  hand,  just  like  a  young 
lady.  Indeed,  Jess — that  was  her  name — was  al- 
together so  lady-like  in  her  behavior,  that  more 
than  once  Cook  allowed  her  to  walk  in  at  the  back 
door,  where  she  stood  politely  warming  her  nose  at 
the  kitchen  fire  for  a  minute  or  two,  then  turned 
round  and  as  politely  walked  out  again.  But  she 
never  did  any  mischief;  and  was  so  quiet  and  gen- 
tle a  creature  that  she  bade  fair  soon  to  become 
as  great  a  pet  in  the  household  as  the  dog,  the  cat, 
the  kittens,  the  puppies,  the  fowls,  the  ducks,  the 
cow,  the  pig,  and  all  the  other  members  of  the 
family. 

The  only  one  who  disliked  her,  and  grumbled 
at  her,  was  the  Gardener.  This  was  odd;  because, 
though  cross  to  children,  the  old  man  was  kind  to 
dumb  beasts.  Even  his  pig  knew  his  voice  and 
grunted,  and  held  out  his  nose  to  be  scratched;  and 
he  always  gave  each  successive  pig  a  name,  Jack  or 
Dick,  and  called  them  by  it,  and  was  quite  affection- 
ate to  them,  one  after  the  other,  until  the  very  day 
that  they  were  killed.  But  they  were  English  pigs 
— and  the  pony  was  Scotch — and  the  Devonshire 
Gardener  hated  everything  Scotch,  he  said;  be- 
sides, he  was  not  used  to  groom's  work,  and  the 
pony  required  such  a  deal  of  grooming  on  account 


BROWNIE'S  RIDE  59 

of  her  long  hair.  More  than  once  Gardener  threat- 
ened to  clip  it  short,  and  turn  her  into  a  regular 
English  pony  but  the  children  were  in  such  distress 
at  this  that  the  mistress  and  mother  forbade  any- 
such  spoiling  of  Jess'  personal  appearance. 

At  length,  to  keep  things  smooth,  and  to  avoid 
the  rough  words  and  even  blows  which  poor  Jess 
sometimes  got,  they  sought  in  the  village  for  a  boy 
to  look  after  her,  and  found  a  great  rough,  shock- 
headed  lad  named  Bill,  who,  for  a  few  shillings  a 
week,  consented  to  come  up  every  morning  and 
learn  the  beginning  of  a  groom's  business;  hoping 
to  end,  as  his  mother  said  he  should,  in  sitting, 
like  the  squire's  fat  coachman,  as  broad  as  he  was 
long,  on  the  top  of  the  hammer-cloth  of  a  grand 
carriage,  and  do  nothing  all  day  but  drive  a  pair  of 
horses  as  stout  as  himself  a  few  miles  along  the 
road  and  back  again. 

Bill  would  have  liked  this  very  much,  he 
thought,  if  he  could  have  been  a  coachman  all  at 
once,  for  if  there  was  one  thing  he  disliked,  it  was 
work.  He  much  preferred  to  lie  in  the  sun  all  day 
and  do  nothing;  and  he  only  agreed  to  come  and 
take  care  of  Jess  because  she  was  such  a  very  little 
pony,  that  looking  after  her  seemed  next  door 
to  doing  nothing.  But  when  he  tried  it,  he  found 
his  mistake.  True,  Jess  was  a  very  gentle  beast; 
so  quiet  that  the  old  mother-hen  with  fourteen 


60  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

chicks  used,  instead  of  roosting  with  the  rest  of  the 
fowls,  to  come  regularly  into  the  portion  of  the 
cow-shed  which  was  partitioned  off  for  a  stable, 
and  settle  under  a  corner  of  Jess'  manger  for  the 
night;  and  in  the  morning  the  chicks  would  be  seen 
running  about  fearlessly  among  her  feet  and  under 
her  very  nose. 

But,  for  all  that,  she  required  a  little  manage- 
ment, for  she  did  not  like  her  long  hair  to  be  rough- 
ly handled;  it  took  a  long  time  to  clean  her;  and, 
though  she  did  not  scream  out  like  some  silly  little 
children  when  her  hair  was  combed,  I  am  afraid 
she  sometimes  kicked  and  bounced  about,  giving 
Bill  a  deal  of  trouble— all  the  more  trouble,  the 
more  impatient  Bill  was. 

And  then  he  had  to  keep  within  call,  for  the 
children  wanted  their  pony  at  all  hours.  She  was 
their  own  especial  property,  and  they  insisted  upon 
learning  to  ride — even  before  they  got  a  saddle. 
Hard  work  it  was  to  stick  on  Jess'  bare  back,  but 
by  degrees  the  boys  did  it,  turn  and  turn  about, 
and  even  gave  their  sisters  a  turn  too — a  very  little 
one — just  once  round  the  field  and  back  again, 
which  was  quite  enough,  they  considered,  for  girls. 
But  they  were  very  kind  to  their  little  sisters,  held 
them  on  so  that  they  could  not  fall,  and  led  Jess 
carefully  and  quietly  and  altogether  behaved  as 
elder  brothers  should. 


BROWNIE'S  RIDE  61 

Nor  did  they  squabble  very  much  among 
themselves,  though  sometimes  it  was  rather  diffi- 
cult to  keep  their  turns  all  fair,  and  remember  ac- 
curately which  was  which.  But  they  did  their  best, 
being,  on  the  whole,  extremely  good  children.  And 
they  were  so  happy  to  have  their  pony,  that  they 
would  have  been  ashamed  to  quarrel  over  her. 

Also,  one  very  curious  thing  kept  them  on 
their  good  behavior.  Whenever  they  did  begin  to 
misconduct  themselves — to  want  to  ride  out  of 
their  turns,  or  to  domineer  over  one  another,  or  the 
boys,  joining  together,  tried  to  domineer  over  the 
girls,  as  I  grieve  to  say  boys  often  do — they  used  to 
hear  in  the  air,  right  over  their  heads,  the  crack 
of  an  unseen  whip.  It  was  none  of  theirs,  for  they 
did  not  own  a  whip;  that  was  a  felicity  which  their 
father  had  promised  when  they  could  all  ride  like 
young  gentlemen  and  ladies;  but  there  was  no  mis- 
taking the  sound — indeed,  it  always  startled  Jess 
so  that  she  set  off  galloping,  and  could  not  be 
caught  again  for  many  minutes. 

This  happened  several  times,  until  one  of  them 
said,  "Perhaps  it's  the  Brownie."  Whether  it  was 
or  not,  it  made  them  behave  better  for  a  good 
while;  till  one  unfortunate  day  the  two  eldest  be- 
gan contending  which  should  ride  foremost  and 
which  hindmost  on  Jess's  back,  when  "Crick — 
crack!"  went  the  whip  in  the  air,  frightening  the 


62  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

pony  so  much  that  she  kicked  up  her  heels,  tossed 
both  the  boys  over  her  head,  and  scampered  off, 
followed  by  a  loud  "Ha,  ha,  ha!" 

It  certainly  did  not  come  from  the  two  boys, 
who  had  fallen — quite  safely,  but  rather  unpleas- 
antly— into  a  large  nettle-bed;  whence  they 
crawled  out,  rubbing  their  arms  and  legs,  and  look- 
ing too  much  ashamed  to  complain.  But  they  were 
rather  frightened  and  a  little  cross,  for  Jess  took 
a  skittish  fit,  and  refused  to  be  caught  and  mount- 
ed again,  till  the  bell  rang  for  school — when  she 
grew  as  meek  as  possible.  Too  late — for  the  chil- 
dren were  obliged  to  run  indoors,  and  go  no  more 
rides  for  the  whole  day. 

Jess  was  from  this  incident  supposed  to  be  on 
the  same  friendly  terms  with  Brownie  as  were  the 
rest  of  the  household.  Indeed,  when  she  came,  the 
children  had  taken  care  to  lead  her  up  to  the  coal- 
cellar  door  and  introduce  her  properly — for  they 
knew  Brownie  was  very  jealous  of  strangers,  and 
often  played  them  tricks.  But  after  that  piece  of 
civility  he  would  be  sure,  they  thought,  to  take  her 
under  his  protection.  And  sometimes,  when  the 
little  Shetlander  was  restless  and  pricked  up  her 
ears,  looking  preternaturally  wise  under  those 
shaggy  brows  of  hers,  the  children  used  to  say 
to  one  another,  "Perhaps  she  sees  the  Brownie." 

Whether  she  did  or  not,  Jess  sometimes  seemed 


t 


BROWNIE'S  RIDE  63 

to  see  a  good  deal  that  others  did  not  see,  and  was 
apparently  a  favorite  with  the  Brownie,  for  she 
grew  and  thrived  so  much  that  she  soon  became 
the  pride  and  delight  of  the  children  and  of  the 
whole  family.  You  would  hardly  have  known  her 
for  the  rough,  shaggy,  half-starved  little  beast 
that  had  arrived  a  few  weeks  before.  Her  coat 
was  so  silky,  her  limbs  so  graceful,  and  her  head 
so  full  of  intelligence,  that  everybody  admired  her. 
Then,  even  Gardener  began  to  admire  her  too. 

"I  think  Til  get  upon  her  back;  it  will  save  me 
walking  down  to  the  village,"  said  he,  one  day. 
And  she  actually  carried  him — though,  as  his  feet 
nearly  touched  the  ground,  it  looked  as  if  the  man 
were  carrying  the  pony,  and  not  the  pony  the  man. 
And  the  children  laughed  so  immoderately,  that 
he  never  tried  it  afterward. 

Nor  Bill  neither,  though  he  had  once  thought 
he  should  like  a  ride,  and  got  astride  on  Jess;  but 
she  quickly  ducked  her  head  down,  and  he  tumbled 
over  it.  Evidently  she  had  her  own  tastes  as  to  her 
riders,  and  much  preferred  little  people  to  big  ones. 

Pretty  Jess!  when  cantering  round  the  pad- 
dock with  the  young  folk,  she  really  was  quite  a 
picture.  And  when  at  last  she  got  a  saddle — a  new, 
beautiful  saddle,  with  a  pommel  to  take  off  and  on, 
so  as  to  suit  both  boys  and  girls — how  proud  they 
all  were,  Jess  included!    That  day  they  were  al- 


64  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

lowed  to  take  her  into  the  market-town — Gardener 
leading  her,  as  Bill  could  not  be  trusted — and 
everybody,  even  the  blacksmith,  who  hoped  by- 
and-by  to  have  the  pleasure  of  shoeing  her,  said, 
what  a  beautiful  pony  she  was! 

After  this,  Gardener  treated  Jess  a  great  deal 
better,  and  showed  Bill  how  to  groom  her,  and 
kept  him  close  at  it  too,  which  Bill  did  not  like  at 
all.  He  was  a  very  lazy  lad,  and  whenever  he  could 
shirk  work  he  did  it;  and  many  a  time  when  the 
children  wanted  Jess,  either  there  was  nobody  to 
saddle  her,  or  she  had  not  been  properly  groomed, 
or  Bill  was  away  at  his  dinner,  and  they  had  to 
wait  till  he  came  back  and  could  put  her  in  order 
to  be  taken  out  for  a  ride  like  a  genteel  animal — 
which  I  am  afraid  neither  pony  nor  children  en- 
joyed half  so  much  as  the  old  ways  before  Bill 
came. 

Still,  they  were  gradually  becoming  excellent 
little  horsemen  and  horsewomen — even  the  young- 
est, only  four  years  old,  over  whom  all  the  rest 
were  very  tender  and  who  was  often  held  on  Jess' 
back  and  given  a  ride  out  of  her  turn  because  she 
was  a  good  little  girl,  and  never  cried  for  it.  And 
seldomer  and  seldomer  was  heard  the  mysterious 
sound  of  the  whip  in  the  air,  which  warned  them 
of  quarreling — Brownie  hated  quarreling. 

In  fact,  their  only  trouble  was  Bill,  who  never 


BROWNIE'S  RIDE  65 

came  to  his  work  in  time,  and  never  did  things 
when  wanted,  and  was  ill-natured,  lazy,  and  cross 
to  the  children,  so  that  they  disliked  him  very 
much. 

"I  wish  the  Brownie  would  punish  you,"  said 
one  of  the  boys;  "you'd  behave  better  then." 

"The  Brownie!"  cried  Bill,  contemptuously: 
"if  I  caught  him,  I'd  kick  him  up  in  the  air  like 

this!" 

And  he  kicked  up  his  cap — his  only  cap,  it  was 
— which,  strange  to  relate,  flew  right  up,  ever  so 
high,  and  lodged  at  the  very  top  of  a  tree  which 
overhung  the  stable,  where  it  dangled  for  weeks 
and  weeks,  during  which  time  poor  Bill  had  to  go 
bareheaded. 

He  was  very  much  vexed,  and  revenged  him- 
self by  vexing  the  children  in  all  sorts  of  ways. 
They  would  have  told  their  mother,  and  asked  her 
to  send  Bill  away,  only  she  had  a  great  many 
anxieties  just  then,  for  their  dear  old  grandmoth- 
er was  very  ill,  and  they  did  not  like  to  make  a  fuss 
about  anything  that  would  trouble  her. 

So  Bill  stayed  on,  and  nobody  found  out  what 
a  bad,  ill-natured,  lazy  boy  he  was. 

But  one  day  the  mother  was  sent  for  sudden- 
ly, not  knowing  when  she  should  be  able  to  come 
home  again.    She  was  very  sad,  and  so  were  the 


66  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

children,  for  they  loved  their  grandmother — and 
as  the  carriage  drove  off  they  all  stood  crying 
round  the  front  door  for  ever  so  long. 

The  servants  even  cried  too — all  but  Bill. 

"It's  an  ill  wind  that  blows  nobody  good,"  said 
he.  "What  a  jolly  time  I  shall  have!  I'll  do  noth- 
ing all  day  long.  Those  troublesome  children 
sha'n't  have  Jess  to  ride;  I'll  keep  her  in  the  stable, 
and  then  she  won't  get  dirty,  and  I  shall  have  no 
trouble  in  cleaning  her.    Hurrah!  what  fun!" 

He  put  his  hands  in  his  pockets,  and  sat 
whistling  the  best  part  of  the  afternoon. 

The  children  had  been  so  unhappy,  that  for 
that  day  they  quite  forgot  Jess;  but  next  morning, 
after  lessons  were  over,  they  came  begging  for  a 
ride. 

"You  can't  get  one.  The  stable  door's  locked, 
and  I've  lost  the  key."  (He  had  it  in  his  pocket  all 
the  time.) 

"How  is  poor  Jess  to^get  her  dinner?"  cried  a 
thoughtful  little  girl.  "Oh,  how  hungry  she  will 
be!" 

And  the  child  was  quite  in  distress,  as  were 
the  two  other  girls.  But  the  boys  were  more  angry 
than  sorry. 

"It  was  very  stupid  of  you,  Bill,  to  lose  the  key. 


BROWNIE'S  RIDE  67 

Look  about  and  find  it,  or  else  break  open  the 
door." 

"I  won't,"  said  Bill;  "I  dare  say  the  key  will 
turn  up  before  night,  and  if  it  doesn't,  who  cares? 
You  get  riding  enough  and  too  much.  I'll  not  both- 
er myself  about  it,  or  Jess  either." 

And  Bill  sauntered  away.  He  was  a  big  fellow, 
and  the  little  lads  were  rather  afraid  of  him.  But 
as  he  walked,  he  could  not  keep  his  hand  out  of  his 
trousers-pocket,  where  the  key  grew  heavier 
and  heavier,  till  he  expected  it  every  minute  to 
tumble  through  and  come  out  at  his  boots — con- 
victing him  before  all  the  children  of  having  told 
a  lie. 

Nobody  was  in  the  habit  of  telling  lies  to  them, 
so  they  never  suspected  him,  but  went  innocently 
searching  about  for  the  key — Bill  all  the  while 
clutching  it  fast.  But  every  time  he  touched  it,  he 
felt  his  fingers  pinched,  as  if  there  was  a  cock- 
roach in  his  pocket — or  a  little  lobster — or  some- 
thing, anyhow,  that  had  claws.  At  last,  fairly 
frightened,  he  made  an  excuse  to  go  into  the  cow- 
shed, took  the  key  out  of  his  pocket  and  looked  at 
it,  and  finally  hid  it  in  a  corner  of  the  manger, 
among  the  hay. 

As  he  did  so,  he  heard  a  most  extraordinary 
laugh,  which  was  certainly  not  from  Dolly  the  cow, 


HE  TALKED  WITH  THE  GARDENER'S  WIFE 


BROWNIE'S  RIDE  69 

and,  as  he  went  out  of  the  shed,  he  felt  the  same 
sort  of  pinch  at  his  ankles,  which  made  him  so 
angry  that  he  kept  striking  with  his  whip  in  all 
directions,  but  hit  nobody,  for  nobody  was  there. 

But  Jess — who,  as  soon  as  she  heard  the  chil- 
dren's voices,  had  set  up  a  most  melancholy  whin- 
nying behind  the  locked  stable  door — began  to 
neigh  energetically.  And  Boxer  barked,  and  the 
hens  cackled,  and  the  guinea-fowls  cried  "Come 
back,  come  back!"  in  their  insane  fashion — indeed, 
the  whole  farm-yard  seemed  in  such  an  excited 
state,  that  the  children  got  frightened  lest  Garde- 
ner should  scold  them,  and  ran  away,  leaving  Bill 
master  of  the  field. 

What  an  idle  day  he  had!  How  he  sat  on  the 
wall  with  his  hands  in  his  pockets,  and  lounged 
upon  the  fence,  and  sauntered  round  the  garden! 
At  length,  absolutely  tired  of  doing  nothing,  he 
went  and  talked  with  the  Gardener's  wife  while 
she  was  hanging  out  her  clothes.  Gardener  had 
gone  down  to  the  lower  field,  with  all  the  little  folks 
after  him,  so  that  he  knew  nothing  of  Bill's  idling, 
or  it  might  have  come  to  an  end. 

By-and-by  Bill  thought  it  was  time  to  go  home 
to  his  supper.  "But  first  I'll  give  Jess  her  corn," 
said  he,  "double  quantity,  and  then  I  need  not  come 
back  to  give  her  her  breakfast  so  early  in  the  morn- 


70  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

ing.  There!  you  greedy  beast!  I'll  be  at  you  pres- 
ently, if  you  don't  stop  that  noise." 

For  Jess,  at  sound  of  his  footsteps,  was  heard 
to  whinny  in  the  most  imploring  manner,  enough 
to  have  melted  a  heart  of  stone. 

"The  key— where  on  earth  did  I  put  the  key?" 
cried  Bill,  whose  constant  habit  it  was  to  lay  things 
out  of  his  hand  and  then  forget  where  he  had  put 
them,  causing  himself  endless  loss  of  time  in 
searching  for  them — as  now.  At  last  he  suddenly 
remembered  the  corner  of  the  cow's  manger,  where 
he  felt  sure  he  had  left  it.  But  the  key  was  not 
there. 

"You  can't  have  eaten  it,  you  silly  old  cow," 
said  he,  striking  Dolly  on  the  nose  as  she  rubbed 
herself  against  him — she  was  an  affectionate 
beast.  "Nor  you,  you  stupid  old  hen!"  kicking  the 
mother  of  the  brood,  who,  with  her  fourteen  chicks, 
being  shut  out  of  their  usual  roosting-place — 
Jess's  stable — kept  pecking  about  under  Dolly's 
legs.  "It  can't  have  gone  without  hands — of  course 
it  can't."    But  most  certainly  the  key  was  gone. 

What  in  the  world  should  Bill  do?  Jess  kept 
on  making  a  pitiful  complaining.  No  wonder,  as 
she  had  not  tasted  food  since  morning.  It  would 
have  made  any  kind-hearted  person  quite  sad  to 
hear  her,  thinking  how  exceedingly  hungry  the 
poor  pony  must  be. 


BROWNIE'S  RIDE  71 

Little  did  Bill  care  for  that,  or  for  anything, 
except  that  he  should  be  sure  to  get  into  trouble 
as  soon  as  he  was  found  out.  When  he  heard 
Gardener  coming  into  the  farm-yard,  with  the  chil- 
dren after  him,  Bill  bolted  over  the  wall  like  a  flash 
of  lightning,  and  ran  away  home,  leaving  poor 
Jess  to  her  fate. 

All  the  way  he  seemed  to  hear  at  his  heels  a 
little  dog  yelping,  and  then  a  swarm  of  gnats 
buzzing  round  his  head,  and  altogether  was  so  per- 
plexed and  bewildered,  that  when  he  got  into  his 
mother's  cottage  he  escaped  into  bed,  and  pulled 
the  blanket  over  his  ears  to  shut  out  the  noise  of 
the  dog  and  the  gnats,  which  at  last  turned  into  a 
sound  like  somebody  laughing.  It  was  not  his 
mother,  she  didn't  often  laugh,  poor  soul! — Bill 
bothered  her  quite  too  much  for  that,  and  he  knew 
it.  Dreadfully  frightened,  he  hid  his  head  under 
the  bed-clothes,  determined  to  go  to  sleep  and  think 
about  nothing  till  next  day. 

Meantime  Gardener  returned,  with  all  the  lit- 
tle people  trooping  after  him.  He  had  been  rather 
kinder  to  them  than  usual  this  day,  because  he 
knew  their  mother  had  gone  away  in  trouble,  and 
now  he  let  them  help  him  to  roll  the  gravel,  and 
fetch  up  Dolly  to  be  milked,  and  watch  him  milk 
her  in  the  cow-shed — where,  it  being  nearly  win- 
ter, she  always  spent  the  night  now.    They  were 


72  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

so  well  amused  that  they  forgot  all  about  their  dis- 
appointment as  to  the  ride,  and  Jess  did  not  re- 
mind them  of  it  by  her  whinnying.  For  as  soon  as 
Bill  was  gone  she  grew  quite  silent. 

At  last  one  little  girl,  the  one  who  had  cried 
over  Jess'  being  left  hungry,  remembered  the  poor 
pony,  and,  peeping  through  a  crevice  in  the  cow- 
shed, saw  her  stand  contentedly  munching  at  a 
large  bowlful  of  corn. 

"So  Bill  did  find  the  key.  I'm  very  glad," 
thought  the  kind  little  maiden,  and  to  make  sure 
looked  again,  when — what  do  you  think  she  beheld 
squatting  on  the  manger?  Something  brown — 
either  a  large  brown  rat,  or  a  small  brown  man. 
But  she  held  her  tongue,  since,  being  a  very  little 
girl,  people  sometimes  laughed  at  her  for  the 
strange  things  she  saw.  She  was  quite  certain 
she  did  see  them,  for  all  that. 

So  she  and  the  rest  of  the  children  went  in- 
doors and  to  bed.  When  they  were  fast  asleep, 
something  happened.  Something  so  curious,  that 
the  youngest  boy,  who,  thinking  he  heard  Jess 
neighing,  got  up  to  look  out,  was  afraid  to  tell,  lest 
he  too  should  be  laughed  at,  and  went  back  to  bed 
immediately. 

In  the  middle  of  the  night,  a  little  old  brown 
man  carrying  a  lantern,  or  at  least  having  a  light 


BROWNIE'S  RIDE  73 

in  his  hand  that  looked  like  a  lantern — went  and 
unlocked  Jess'  stable,  and  patted  her  pretty  head. 
At  first  she  started,  but  soon  she  grew  quiet  and 
pleased,  and  let  him  do  what  he  chose  with  her. 
He  began  rubbing  her  down,  making  the  same 
funny  hissing  with  his  mouth  that  Bill  did,  and  all 
grooms  do — I  never  could  find  out  why.  But  Jess 
evidently  liked  it,  and  stood  as  good  as  possible. 

"Isn't  it  nice  to  be  clean?"  said  the  wee  man, 
talking  to  her  as  if  she  were  a  human  being,  or  a 
Brownie.  "And  I  dare  say  your  poor  little  legs  ache 
with  standing  still  so  long.  Shall  we  have  a  run 
together?  The  moon  shines  bright  in  the  clear,  cold 
night.    Dear  me!  I'm  talking  poetry." 

But  Brownies  are  not  poetical  fairies,  quite 
commonplace,  and  up  to  all  sorts  of  work.  So,  while 
he  talked,  he  was  saddling  and  bridling  Jess,  she 
not  objecting  in  the  least.  Finally,  he  jumped  on 
her  back. 

"  'Off,  said  the  stranger — off,  off,  and  away!'  " 
sang  Brownie,  mimicking  a  song  of  the  Cook's. 
People  in  that  house  often  heard  their  songs  re- 
peated in  the  oddest  way,  from  room  to  room, 
everybody  fancying  it  was  somebody  else  that  did 
it.  But  it  was  only  the  Brownie.  "Now,  'A  south- 
erly wind  and  a  cloudy  sky  proclaim  it  a  hunting 
morning !' " 


74  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

Or  night — for  it  was  the  middle  of  the  night, 
though  bright  as  day — and  Jess  galloped  and  the 
Brownie  sat  on  her  back  as  merrily  as  if  they  had 
gone  hunting  together  all  their  days. 

Such  a  steeple-chase  it  was!  They  cleared  the 
farm-yard  at  a  single  bound,  and  went  flying  down 
the  road,  and  across  the  ploughed  field,  and  into  the 
wood.  Then  out  into  the  open  country,  and  by-and- 
by  into  a  dark,  muddy  lane — and  oh!  how  muddy 
Devonshire  lanes  can  be  sometimes! 

"Let's  go  into  the  water  to  wash  ourselves/' 
said  Brownie,  and  coaxed  Jess  into  a  deep  stream, 
which  she  swam  as  bravely  as  possible — she  had 
not  had  such  a  frolic  since  she  left  her  native  Shet- 
land Isles.  Up  the  bank  she  scrambled,  her  long 
hair  dripping  as  if  she  had  been  a  water-dog  in- 
stead of  a  pony.  Brownie,  too,  shook  himself  like 
a  rat  or  a  beaver,  throwing  a  shower  round  him 
in  all  directions. 

"Never  mind;  at  it  again,  my  lass!"  and  he 
urged  Jess  into  the  water  once  more.  Out  she  came, 
wetter  and  brisker  than  ever,  and  went  back  home 
through  the  lane,  and  the  wood,  and  the  ploughed 
field,  galloping  like  the  wind,  and  tossing  back  her 
ears  and  mane  and  tail,  perfectly  frantic  with  en- 
joyment. 

But  when  she  reached  her  stable,  the  plight 


BROWNIE'S  RIDE  75 

she  was  in  would  have  driven  any  respectable 
groom  frantic  too.  Her  sides  were  white  with 
foam,  and  the  mud  was  sticking  all  over  her  like 
a  plaster.  As  for  her  beautiful  long  hair,  it  was 
all  caked  together  in  a  tangle,  as  if  all  the  combs 
in  the  world  would  never  make  it  smooth  again. 
Her  mane  especially  was  plaited  into  knots,  which 
people  in  Devonshire  call  elf-locks,  and  say,  when 
they  find  them  on  their  horses,  that  it  is  because 
the  fairies  have  been  riding  them. 

Certainly,  poor  Jess  had  been  pretty  well  rid- 
den that  night!  When,  just  as  the  dawn  began 
to  break,  Gardener  got  up  and  looked  into  the 
farm-yard,  his  sharp  eye  caught  sight  of  the  stable 
door,  wide  open. 

"Well  done,  Bill,"  shouted  he,  "up  early  at  last. 
One  hour  before  breakfast  is  worth  three  after." 

But  no  Bill  was  there;  only  Jess,  trembling  and 
shaking,  all  in  a  foam,  and  muddy  from  head  to 
foot,  but  looking  perfectly  cheerful  in  her  mind. 
And  out  from  under  her  fore  legs  ran  a  small 
creature,  which  Gardener  mistook  for  Tiny,  only 
Tiny  was  gray,  and  this  dog  was  brown,  of  course! 

I  should  not  like  to  tell  you  all  that  was  said 
to  Bill  when,  an  hour  after  breakfast-time,  he 
came  skulking  up  to  the  farm.  In  fact,  words  fail- 
ing, Gardener  took  a  good  stick  and  laid  it  about 


76  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

BilPs  shoulders,  saying  he  would  either  do  this,  or 
tell  the  mistress  of  him,  and  how  he  had  left  the 
stable-door  open  all  night,  and  some  bad  fellow  had 
stolen  Jess,  and  galloped  her  all  across  the  coun- 
try, till,  if  she  hadn't  been  the  cleverest  pony  in 
the  world,  she  never  could  have  gotten  back  again. 

Bill  dared  not  contradict  this  explanation  of 
the  story,  especially  as  the  key  was  found  hanging 
up  in  its  proper  place  by  the  kitchen  door.  And 
when  he  went  to  fetch  it,  he  heard  the  most  ex- 
traordinary sound  in  the  coal-cellar  close  by — like 
somebody  snoring  or  laughing.  Bill  took  to  his 
heels,  and  did  not  come  back  for  a  whole  hour. 

But  when  he  did  come  back,  he  made  himself 
as  busy  as  possible.  He  cleaned  Jess,  which  was 
half  a  day's  work  at  least.  Then  he  took  the  little 
people  for  a  ride,  and  afterward  put  his  stable  in 
the  most  beautiful  order,  and  altogether  was  such 
a  changed  Bill,  that  Gardener  told  him  he  must 
have  left  himself  at  home  and  brought  back  some- 
body else:  whether  or  not,  the  boy  certainly  im- 
proved, so  that  there  was  less  occasion  to  find  fault 
with  him  afterward. 

Jess  lived  to  be  quite  an  old  pony,  and  carried 
a  great  many  people — little  people  always,  for  she 
herself  never  grew  any  bigger.  But  I  don't  think 
she  ever  carried  a  Brownie  again. 


BROWNIE  ON  THE  ICE 

WINTER  was  a  grand  time  with  the  six  little 
children,  especially  when  they  had  frost  and 
snow.  This  happened  seldom  enough  for  it  to  be 
the  greatest  possible  treat  when  it  did  happen,  and 
it  never  lasted  very  long,  for  the  winters  are  warm 
in  Devonshire. 

There  was  a  little  lake  three  fields  off,  which 
made  the  most  splendid  sliding-place  imaginable. 
No  skaters  went  near  it — it  was  not  large  enough; 
and  besides,  there  was  nobody  to  skate,  the  neigh- 
borhood being  lonely.  The  lake  itself  looked  the 
loneliest  place  imaginable.  It  was  not  very  deep — 
not  deep  enough  to  drown  a  man — but  it  had  a 
gravelly  bottom,  and  was  always  very  clear.  Also, 
the  trees  round  it  grew  so  thick  that  they  sheltered 
it  completely  from  the  wind;  so,  when  it  did  freeze, 
it  generally  froze  as  smooth  as  a  sheet  of  glass. 

"The  lake  bears!"  was  such  a  grand  event,  and 
so  rare,  that  when  it  did  occur,  the  news  came  at 
once  to  the  farm,  and  the  children  carried  it  as 
quickly  to  their  mother.  For  she  had  promised 
them  that,  if  such  a  thing  did  happen  this  year — 

77 


OUT  SHE  CAME,  WETTER  AND  BRISKER  THAN  EVER 


BROWNIE  ON  THE  ICE  79 

it  did  not  happen  every  year — lessons  should  be 
stopped  entirely,  and  they  should  all  go  down  to 
the  lake  and  slide,  if  they  liked,  all  day  long. 

So  one  morning,  just  before  Christmas,  the 
eldest  boy  ran  in  with  a  countenance  of  great  de- 
light. 

"Mother,  mother,  the  lake  bears!"  (It  was 
rather  a  compliment  to  call  it  a  lake,  it  being  only 
about  twenty  yards  across  and  forty  long).  "The 
lake  really  bears!" 

"Who  says  so?" 

"Bill.  Bill  has  been  on  it  for  an  hour  this 
morning,  and  has  made  us  two  such  beautiful 
slides,  he  says — an  up-slide  and  a  down-slide.  May 
we  go  to  them  directly?" 

The  mother  hesitated. 

"You  promised,  you  know,"  pleaded  the  chil- 
dren. 

"Very  well,  then;  only  be  careful." 

"And  may  we  slide  all  day  long,  and  never 
come  home  for  dinner  or  anything?" 

"Yes,  if  you  like.  Only  Gardener  must  go  with 
you,  and  stay  all  day." 

This  they  did  not  like  at  all;  nor,  when  Garde- 
ner was  spoken  to,  did  he. 


80  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

"You  bothering  children!  I  wish  you  may  all 
get  a  good  ducking  in  the  lake!  Serve  you  right 
for  making  me  lose  a  day's  work,  just  to  look  after 
you  little  monkeys.  I've  a  great  mind  to  tell  your 
mother  I  won't  do  it." 

But  he  did  not,  being  fond  of  his  mistress.  He 
was  also  fond  of  his  work,  but  he  had  no  notion  of 
play.  I  think  the  saying  of  "All  work  and  no  play 
makes  Jack  a  dull  boy,"  must  have  been  applied 
to  him,  for  Gardener,  whatever  he  had  been  as  a 
boy,  was  certainly  a  dull  and  melancholy  man. 
The  children  used  to  say  that  if  he  and  idle  Bill 
could  have  been  kneaded  into  one,  and  baked  in 
the  oven — a  very  warm  oven — they  would  have 
come  out  rather  a  pleasant  person. 

As  it  was,  Gardener  was  anything  but  a  pleas- 
ant person;  above  all,  to  spend  a  long  day  with, 
and  on  the  ice,  where  one  needs  all  one's  cheer- 
fulness and  good-humor  to  bear  pinched  fingers 
and  numbed  toes,  and  trips  and  tumbles,  and  vari- 
ous uncomf  ortablenesses. 

"He'll  growl  at  us  all  day  long — he'll  be  a  regu- 
lar spoil-sport!"  lamented  the  children.  "Oh, 
mother,  mightn't  we  go  alone?" 

"No!"  said  the  mother;  and  her  "No"  meant 
no,  though  she  was  always  very  kind.  They 
argued  the  point  no  more,  but  started  off,  rather 


BROWNIE  ON  THE  ICE  81 

downhearted.  But  soon  they  regained  their  spirits, 
for  it  was  a  bright,  clear,  frosty  day — the  sun  shin- 
ing, though  not  enough  to  melt  the  ice,  and  just 
sufficient  to  lie  like  a  thin  sprinkling  over  the  grass 
and  turn  the  brown  branches  into  white  ones.  The 
little  people  danced  along  to  keep  themselves 
warm,  carrying  between  them  a  basket  which  held 
their  lunch.  A  very  harmless  lunch  it  was — just 
a  large  brown  loaf  and  a  lump  of  cheese,  and  a 
knife  to  cut  it  with.  Tossing  the  basket  about 
in  their  fun,  they  managed  to  tumble  the  knife 
out,  and  were  having  a  search  for  it  in  the  long 
grass,  when  Gardener  came  up,  grumpily  enough. 

"To  think  of  trusting  you  children  with  one 
of  the  table-knives  and  a  basket!  what  a  fool  Cook 
must  be!  I'll  tell  her  so;  and  if  they're  lost  she'll 
blame  me:  give  me  the  things." 

He  put  the  knife  angrily  in  one  pocket.  "Per- 
haps it  will  cut  a  hole  in  it,"  said  one  of  the  chil- 
dren, in  rather  a  pleased  tone  than  otherwise;  then 
he  turned  the  lunch  all  out  on  the  grass  and 
crammed  it  in  the  other  pocket,  hiding  the  basket 
behind  a  hedge. 


«T>, 


Tm  sure  I'll  not  be  at  the  trouble  of  carrying 
it,"  said  he,  when  the  children  cried  out  at  this; 
"and  you  sha'n't  carry  it  either,  for  you'll  knock 
it  about  and  spoil  it.   And  as  for  your  lunch  getting 


82  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 


warm  in  my  pocket,  why,  so  much  the  better  this 
cold  day." 

It  was  not  a  lively  joke,  and  they  knew  his 
pocket  was  very  dirty;  indeed,  the  little  girls  had 
seen  him  stuff  a  dead  rat  into  it  only  the  day  be- 
fore. They  looked  ready  to  cry;  but  there  was  no 
help  for  them,  except  going  back  and  complain- 
ing to  their  mother,  and  they  did  not  like  to  do  that. 
Besides,  they  knew  that,  though  Gardener  was 
cross,  he  was  trustworthy,  and  she  would  never 
let  them  go  down  to  the  lake  without  him. 

So  they  followed  him,  trying  to  be  as  good  as 
they  could — though  it  was  difficult  work.  One  of 
them  proposed  pelting  him  with  snow-balls,  as 
they  pelted  each  other.  But  at  the  first — which 
fell  in  his  neck — he  turned  round  so  furiously,  that 
they  never  sent  a  second,  but  walked  behind  him 
as  meek  as  mice. 

As  they  went,  they  heard  little  steps  pattering 
after  them. 

"Perhaps  it  is  the  Brownie  coming  to  play  with 
us — I  wish  he  would,"  whispered  the  youngest  girl 
to  the  eldest  boy,  whose  hand  she  generally  held; 
and  then  the  little  pattering  steps  sounded  again, 
traveling  through  the  snow,  but  they  saw  nobody 
— so  they  said  nothing. 

The  children  would  have  liked  to  go  straight  to 


ONE  OF  THEM  PULLED  THE  GARDENER'S  COAT-TAILS 


84  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

the  ice;  but  Gardener  insisted  on  taking  them  a 
mile  round,  to  look  at  an  extraordinary  animal 
which  a  farmer  there  had  just  gotten — sent  by  his 
brother  in  Australia.  The  two  old  men  stood  gos- 
siping so  long  that  the  children  wearied  extremely. 
Every  minute  seemed  an  hour  till  they  got  on  the 
ice. 

At  last  one  of  them  pulled  Gardener's  coat- 
tails,  and  whispered  that  they  were  quite  ready 
to  go. 

"Then  I'm  not,"  and  he  waited  ever  so  much 
longer,  and  took  a  drink  of  hot  cider,  which  made 
him  quite  lively  for  a  little  while. 

But  by  the  time  they  reached  the  lake,  he  was 
as  cross  as  ever.  He  struck  the  ice  with  his  stick, 
but  made  no  attempt  to  see  if  it  really  did  bear — 
though  he  would  not  allow  the  children  to  go  one 
step  upon  it  till  he  had  tried. 

"I  know  it  doesn't  bear,  and  you'll  just  have  to 
go  home  again — a  good  thing  too — saves  me  from 
losing  a  day's  work." 

"Try,  only  try;  Bill  said  it  bore,"  implored  the 
boys,  and  looked  wistfully  at  the  two  beautiful- 
slides — just  as  Bill  said,  one  up  and  one  down — 
stretching  all  across  the  lake;  "of  course  it  bears, 
or  Bill  could  not  have  made  these  slides." 


BROWNIE  ON  THE  ICE  85 

"Bill's  a  goose!"  said  the  Gardener,  and  put 
his  heavy  foot  cautiously  on  the  ice.  Just  then 
there  was  seen  jumping  across  it  a  creature  which 
certainly  had  never  been  seen  on  ice  before.  It 
made  the  most  extraordinary  bounds  on  its  long 
hind  legs,  with  its  little  fore  legs  tucked  up  in 
front  of  it  as  if  it  wanted  to  carry  a  muff;  and  its 
long,  stiff  tail  sticking  out  straight  behind,  to  bal- 
ance itself  with,  apparently.  The  children  at  first 
started  with  surprise,  and  then  burst  out  laughing, 
for  it  was  the  funniest  creature,  and  had  the  fun- 
niest way  of  getting  along,  that  they  had  ever  seen 
in  their  lives. 

"It's  the  kangaroo!"  cried  Gardener,  in  great 
excitement.  "It  has  gotten  loose — and  it's  sure  to 
be  lost — and  what  a  way  Mr.  Giles  will  be  in!  I 
must  go  and  tell  him.   Or  stop,  I'll  try  and  catch  it." 

But  in  vain — it  darted  once  or  twice  across  the 
ice,  dodging  him,  as  it  were;  and  once  coming  so 
close  that  he  nearly  caught  it  by  the  tail — to  the 
children's  great  delight — then  it  vanished  entirely. 

"I  must  go  and  tell  Mr.  Giles  directly,"  said 
Gardener,  and  then  stopped.  For  he  had  prom- 
ised not  to  leave  the  children;  and  it  was  such  a 
wild-goose  chase,  after  an  escaped  kangaroo.  But 
he  might  get  half  a  crown  as  a  reward,  and  he 
was  sure  of  another  glass  of  cider, 


86  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

"You  just  stay  quietly  here,  and  I'll  be  back  in 
five  minutes/'  said  he  to  the  children.  "You  may 
go  a  little  way  on  the  ice — I  think  it's  sound 
enough;  only  mind  you  don't  tumble  in,  for  there'll 
be  nobody  to  pull  you  out." 

"Oh,  no,"  said  the  children,  clapping  their 
hands.  They  did  not  care  for  tumbling  in,  and  were 
quite  glad  there  was  nobody  there  to  pull  them  out. 
They  hoped  Gardener  would  stay  a  very  long  time 
away — only,  as  some  one  suggested  when  he  was 
seen  hurrying  across  the  snowy  field,  he  had  taken 
away  their  lunch  in  his  pocket,  too. 

"Never  mind — we're  not  hungry  yet.  Now  for 
a  slide." 

Off  they  darted,  the  three  older  boys,  with  a 
good  run;  the  biggest  of  the  girls  followed  after 
them;  and  soon  the  whole  four  were  skimming  one 
after  the  other,  as  fast  as  a  railway  train,  across 
the  slippery  ice.  And,  like  a  railway  train,  they 
had  a  collision,  and  all  came  tumbling  one  over  the 
other,  with  great  screaming  and  laughter,  to 
the  high  bank  on  the  other  side.  The  two  younger 
ones  stood  mournfully  watching  the  others  from 
the  opposite  bank — when  there  stood  beside  them 
a  small  brown  man. 

"Ho-ho !  little  people,"  said  he,  coming  between 
them  and  taking  hold  of  a  hand  of  each.    His 


"HO-HO!   LITTLE  PEOPLE,"  SAID  HE 


88  BROWNIE  ON  THE  ICE 

was  so  warm  and  theirs  so  cold,  that  it  was  quite 
comfortable.  And  then,  somehow,  they  found  in 
their  open  mouths  a  nice  lozenge — I  think  it  was 
peppermint,  but  am  not  sure;  which  comforted 
them  still  more. 

"Did  you  want  me  to  play  with  you?"  cried  the 
Brownie;  "then  here  I  am!  What  shall  we  do? 
Have  a  turn  on  the  ice  together?" 

No  sooner  said  than  done.  The  two  little  chil- 
dren felt  themselves  floating  along — it  was  more 
like  floating  than  running — with  Brownie  between 
them;  up  the  lake,  and  down  the  lake,  and  across 
the  lake,  not  at  all  interfering  with  the  sliders — 
indeed,  it  was  a  great  deal  better  than  sliding. 
Rosy  and  breathless,  their  toes  so  nice  and  warm, 
and  their  hands  feeling  like  mince-pies  just  taken 
out  of  the  oven — the  little  ones  came  to  a  stand- 
still. 

The  elder  ones  stopped  their  sliding,  and 
looked  toward  Brownie  with  entreating  eyes.  He 
swung  himself  up  to  a  willow  bough,  and  then 
turned  head  over  heels  on  to  the  ice. 

"Halloo!  you  don't  mean  to  say  you  big  ones 
want  a  race  too !  Well,  come  along — if  the  two  eld- 
est will  give  a  slide  to  the  little  ones." 

He  watched  them  take  a  tiny  sister  between 
them,  and  slide  her  up  one  slide  and  down  another 


BROWNIE  ON  THE  ICE  89 

screaming  with  delight.    Then  he  took  the  two 
middle  children  in  either  hand. 

"One,  two,  three,  and  away!"  Off  they  started 
— scudding-  along  as  light  as  feathers  and  as  fast 
as  steam-engines,  over  the  smooth,  black  ice,  so 
clear  that  they  could  see  the  bits  of  stick  and  wat- 
er-grasses frozen  in  it,  and  even  the  little  fishes 
swimming  far  down  below — if  they  had  only 
looked  long  enough. 

When  all  had  had  their  fair  turns,  they  be- 
gan to  be  frightfully  hungry. 

"Catch  a  fish  for  dinner,  and  I'll  lend  you  a 
hook,"  said  Brownie.  At  which  they  all  laughed, 
and  then  looked  rather  grave.  Pulling  a  cold,  raw, 
live  fish  from  under  the  ice  and  eating  it  was  not 
a  pleasant  idea  of  dinner.  "Well,  what  would  you 
like  to  have?   Let  the  little  one  choose." 

She  said,  after  thinking  a  minute,  that  she 
should  like  a  currant-cake. 

"And  I'd  give  you  all  a  bit  of  it — a  very  large 
bit — I  would  indeed!"  added  she,  almost  with  the 
tears  in  her  eyes — she  was  so  very  hungry. 

"Do  it,  then!"  said  the  Brownie,  in  his  little 
squeaking  voice. 

Immediately  the  stone  that  the  little  girl  was 
sitting  on — a  round,  hard  stone,  and  so  cold! — 


90  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

turned  into  a  nice  hot  cake — so  hot  that  she  jumped 
up  directly.  As  soon  as  she  saw  what  it  was,  she 
clapped  her  hands  for  joy. 

"Oh,  what  a  beautiful,  beautiful  cake!  only 
we  haven't  got  a  knife  to  cut  it." 

The  boys  felt  in  all  their  pockets,  but  some- 
how their  knives  never  were  there  when  they  were 
wanted. 

"Look!  you've  got  one  in  your  hand!"  said 
Brownie  to  the  little  one;  and  that  minute  a  bit  of 
stick  she  held  turned  into  a  bread-knife — silver, 
with  an  ivory  handle — big  enough  and  sharp 
enough,  without  being  too  sharp.  For  the  young- 
est girl  was  not  allowed  to  use  sharp  knives, 
though  she  liked  cutting  things  excessively,  es- 
pecially cakes. 

"That  will  do.  Sit  you  down  and  carve  the  din- 
ner. Fair  shares,  and  don't  let  anybody  eat  too 
much.  Now  begin,  ma'am,"  said  the  Brownie, 
quite  politely,  as  if  she  had  been  ever  so  old. 

Oh,  how  proud  the  little  girl  was!  How  brave- 
ly she  set  to  work,  and  cut  five  of  the  biggest  slices 
you  ever  saw,  and  gave  them  to  her  brothers  and 
sisters,  and  was  just  going  to  take  the  sixth  slice 
for  herself,  when  she  remembered  the  Brownie. 

"I  beg  your  pardon,"  said  she,  as  politely  as 
he,  though  she  was  such  a  very  little  girl,  and 


SHE  CUT  FIVE  BIG  SLICES 


92  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

turned  round  to  the  wee  brown  man.  But  he  was 
nowhere  to  be  seen.  The  slices  of  cake  in  the  chil- 
dren's hands  remained  cake,  and  uncommonly 
good  it  was,  and  such  substantial  eating  that  it  did 
nearly  the  same  as  dinner;  but  the  cake  itself 
turned  suddenly  to  a  stone  again,  and  the  knife 
into  a  bit  of  stick. 

For  there  was  the  Gardener  coming  clumping 
along  by  the  bank  of  the  lake,  and  growling  as  he 
went. 

"Have  you  got  the  kangaroo?"  shouted  the 
children,  determined  to  be  civil,  if  possible. 

"This  place  is  bewitched,  I  think,"  said  he. 
"The  kangaroo  was  fast  asleep  in  the  cow-shed. 
What!  how  dare  you  laugh  at  me?" 

But  they  hadn't  laughed  at  all.  And  they 
found  it  no  laughing  matter,  poor  children,  when 
Gardener  came  on  the  ice,  and  began  to  scold  them 
and  order  them  about.  He  was  perfectly  savage 
with  crossness;  for  the  people  at  Giles'  Farm  had 
laughed  at  him  very  much,  and  he  did  not  like  to 
be  laughed  at — and  at  the  top  of  the  field  he  had 
by  chance  met  his  mistress,  and  she  had  asked  him 
severely  how  he  could  think  of  leaving  the  chil- 
dren alone. 

Altogether,  his  conscience  pricked  him  a  good 
deal;  and  when  people's  consciences  prick  them, 


BROWNIE  ON  THE  ICE  93 

sometimes  they  get  angry  with  other  people,  which 
is  very  silly,  and  only  makes  matters  worse. 

"What  have  you  been  doing  all  this  time?" 
said  he. 

"All  this  five  minutes?"  said  the  eldest  boy, 
mischievously;  for  Gardener  was  only  to  be  away 
five  minutes,  and  he  had  stayed  a  full  hour.  Also, 
when  he  fumbled  in  his  pocket  for  the  children's 
lunch — to  stop  their  tongues,  perhaps — he  found 
it  was  not  there. 

They  set  up  a  great  outcry;  for,  in  spite  of  the 
cake,  they  could  have  eaten  a  little  more.  Indeed, 
the  frost  had  such  an  effect  upon  all  their  appetites, 
that  they  felt  not  unlike  that  celebrated  gentleman 
of  whom  it  is  told  that 

"He  ate  a  cow,  and  ate  a  calf, 
He  ate  an  ox,  and  ate  a  half; 
He  ate  a  church,  he  ate  the  steeple, 
He  ate  the  priest,  and  all  the  people, 
And  said  he  hadn't  had  enough  then." 

"We're  so  hungry,  so  very  hungry!  Couldn't 
you  go  back  again  and  fetch  us  some  dinner?" 
cried  they,  entreatingly. 

"Not  I,  indeed.  You  may  go  back  to  dinner 
yourselves.    You  shall,  indeed,  for  I  want  my  din- 


94  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

ner  too.    Two  hours  is  plenty  long  enough  to  stay 
on  the  ice." 

"It  isn't  two  hours — it's  only  one." 

"Well,  one  will  do  better  than  more.  You're 
all  right  now — and  you  might  soon  tumble  in,  or 
break  your  legs  on  the  slide.   So  come  away  home." 

It  wasn't  kind  of  Gardener,  and  I  don't  wonder 
the  children  felt  it  hard;  indeed,  the  eldest  boy  re- 
sisted stoutly. 

"Mother  said  we  might  stay  all  day,  and  we 
will  stay  all  day.    You  may  go  home  if  you  like." 

"I  won't,  and  you  shall!"  said  Gardener 
smacking  a  whip  that  he  carried  in  his  hand.  "Stop 
till  I  catch  you,  and  I'll  give  you  this  about  your 
back,  my  fine  gentleman." 

And  he  tried  to  follow,  but  the  little  fellow 
darted  across  the  ice,  objecting  to  be  either  caught 
or  whipped.  It  may  have  been  rather  naughty, 
but  I  am  afraid  it  was  great  fun  dodging  the 
Gardener  up  and  down;  he  being  too  timid  to  go 
on  the  slippery  ice,  and  sometimes  getting  so  close 
that  the  whip  nearly  touched  the  lad. 

"Bless  us!  there's  the  kangaroo  again!"  said 
he,  starting.  Just  as  he  had  caught  the  boy,  and 
lifted  the  whip,  the  creature  was  seen  hop-hopping 


BROWNIE  ON  THE  ICE  95 

from  bank  to  bank.    "I  can't  surely  be  mistaken 
this  time;  I  must  catch  it." 

Which  seemed  quite  easy,  for  it  limped  as  if 
it  was  lame,  or  as  if  the  frost  had  bitten  its  toes, 
poor  beast!  Gardener  went  after  it,  walking  cau- 
tiously on  the  slippery,  crackling  ice,  and  never 
minding  whether  or  not  he  walked  on  the  slides, 
though  they  called  out  to  him  that  his  nailed  boots 
would  spoil  them. 

But  whether  it  was  that  ice  which  bears  a  boy 
will  not  bear  a  man,  or  whether  at  each  lame  step 
of  the  kangaroo  there  came  a  great  crack,  is  more 
than  I  can  tell.  However,  just  as  Gardener  reached 
the  middle  of  the  lake,  the  ice  suddenly  broke,  and 
in  he  popped. — The  kangaroo  too,  apparently,  for 
it  was  not  seen  afterward. 

What  a  hullaballoo  the  poor  man  made!  Not 
that  he  was  drowning — the  lake  was  too  shallow 
to  drown  anybody;  but  he  got  terribly  wet,  and  the 
water  was  very  cold.  He  soon  scrambled  out,  the 
boys  helping  him;  and  then  he  hobbled  home  as 
fast  as  he  could,  not  even  saying  thank  you,  or 
taking  the  least  notice  of  them. 

Indeed,  nobody  took  any  notice  of  them — no- 
body came  to  fetch  them,  and  they  might  have 
stayed  sliding  the  whole  afternoon.  Only  some- 
how they  did  not  feel  quite  easy  in  their  minds. 


96  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

And  though  the  hole  in  the  ice  closed  up  immedi- 
ately, and  it  seemed  as  firm  as  ever,  still  they  did 
not  like  to  slide  upon  it  again. 

"I  think  we  had  better  go  home  and  tell  mother 
everything/'  said  one  of  them.  "Besides,  we  ought 
to  see  what  has  become  of  poor  Gardener.  He  was 
very  wet." 

"Yes,  but  oh,  how  funny  he  looked!"  And  they 
all  burst  out  laughing  at  the  recollection  of  the  fig- 
ure he  cut,  scrambling  out  through  the  ice  with  his 
trousers  dripping  up  to  the  knees,  and  the  water 
running  out  of  his  boots,  making  a  little  pool  wher- 
ever he  stepped. 

"And  it  freezes  so  hard,  that  by  the  time  he 
gets  home  his  clothes  will  be  as  stiff  as  a  board. 
His  wife  will  have  to  put  him  to  the  fire  to  thaw 
before  he  can  get  out  of  them." 

Again  the  little  people  burst  into  shouts  of 
laughter.  Although  they  laughed,  they  were  a  lit- 
tle sorry  for  poor  old  Gardener,  and  hoped  no  great 
harm  had  come  to  him,  but  that  he  had  gotten 
safely  home  and  been  dried  by  his  own  warm  fire. 

The  frosty  mist  was  beginning  already  to  rise, 
and  the  sun,  though  still  high  up  in  the  sky,  looked 
like  a  ball  of  red-hot  iron  as  the  six  children  went 
homeward  across  the  fields — merry  enough  still, 


BROWNIE  ON  THE  ICE  97 

but  not  quite  so  merry  as  they  had  been  a  few  hours 
before. 

"Let's  hope  mother  won't  be  vexed  with  us," 
said  they,  "but  will  let  us  come  back  again  tomor- 
row. It  wasn't  our  fault  that  Gardener  tumbled 
in." 

As  somebody  said  this,  they  all  heard  quite  dis- 
tinctly, "Ha,  ha,  ha!"  and  "Ho,  ho,  ho!"  and  a  sound 
of  little  steps  pattering  behind. 

But  whatever  they  thought,  nobody  ventured 
to  say  that  it  was  the  fault  of  the  Brownie. 


BROWNIE  AND  THE  CLOTHES 

HP  ILL  the  next  time;  but  when  there  is  a  Brownie 
-*■  in  the  house,  no  one  can  say  that  any  of  his 
tricks  will  be  the  last,  for  there's  no  stopping  a 
Brownie,  and  no  getting  rid  of  him  either.  This 
one  had  followed  the  family  from  house  to  house, 
generation  after  generation — never  any  older, 
and  sometimes  seeming  even  to  grow  younger,  by 
the  tricks  he  played.  In  fact,  though  he  looked 
like  an  old  man,  he  was  a  perpetual  child. 

To  the  children  he  never  did  any  harm,  quite 
the  contrary.  And  his  chief  misdoings  were 
against  those  who  vexed  the  children.  But  he 
gradually  made  friends  with  several  of  his  grown- 
up enemies.  Cook,  for  instance,  who  had  ceased 
to  be  lazy  at  night  and  late  in  the  morning,  found 
no  more  black  foot-marks  on  her  white  table-cloth. 
And  Brownie  found  his  basin  of  milk  waiting  for 
him,  night  after  night,  behind  the  coal-cellar  door. 

Bill,  too,  got  on  well  enough  with  his  pony,  and 
Jess  was  taken  on  no  more  night-rides.  No  ducks 
were  lost;  and  Dolly  gave  her  milk  quite  comfort- 
ably to  whoever  milked  her.    Alas!  this  was  either 


100  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

Bill  or  the  Gardener's  wife  now.  After  that  adven- 
ture on  the  ice,  poor  Gardener  very  seldom  ap- 
peared; when  he  did,  it  was  on  two  crutches,  for  he 
had  had  rheumatism  in  his  feet,  and  could  not  stir 
outside  his  cottage  door.  Bill,  therefore,  had  dou- 
ble work;  which  was  probably  all  the  better  for  Bill. 

The  garden  had  to  take  care  of  itself;  but  this 
being  winter-time,  it  did  not  much  signify.  Be- 
sides, Brownie  seldom  went  into  the  garden,  ex- 
cept in  summer;  during  the  hard  weather  he  pre- 
ferred to  stop  in  his  coal-cellar.  It  might  not  have 
been  a  lively  place,  but  it  was  warm,  and  he  liked  it. 

He  had  company  there,  too;  for  when  the  cat 
had  more  kittens — the  kitten  he  used  to  tease  be- 
ing grown  up  now — they  were  all  put  in  a  hamper 
in  the  coal-cellar;  and  of  cold  nights  Brownie  used 
to  jump  in  beside  them,  and  be  as  warm  and  as 
cozy  as  a  kitten  himself.  The  little  things  never 
were  heard  to  mew;  so  it  may  be  supposed  they 
liked  his  society.  And  the  old  mother-cat  evident- 
ly bore  him  no  malice  for  the  whipping  she  had 
gotten  by  mistake;  so  Brownie  must  have  found 
means  of  coaxing  her  over.  One  thing  you  may 
be  sure  of — all  the  while  she  and  her  kittens  were 
in  his  coal-cellar,  he  took  care  never  to  turn  himself 
into  a  mouse. 

He  was  spending  the  winter,  on  the  whole,  very 
comfortably,  without  much  trouble  either  to  him- 


BROWNIE  AND  THE  CLOTHES  101 

self  or  his  neighbors,  when  one  day,  the  coal-cellar 
being  nearly  empty,  two  men,  and  a  great  wagon- 
load  of  coals  behind  him,  came  to  the  door,  Garde- 
ner's wife  following. 

"My  man  says  you're  to  give  the  cellar  a  good 
cleaning  out  before  you  put  any  more  in,"  said  she, 
in  her  sharp  voice;  "and  don't  be  lazy  about  it.  It'll 
not  take  you  ten  minutes,  for  it's  nearly  all  coal- 
dust,  except  that  one  big  lump  in  the  corner — you 
might  clear  that  out  too." 

"Stop,  it's  the  Brownie's  lump!  better  not  med- 
dle with  it,"  whispered  the  little  scullery-maid. 

"Don't  you  meddle  with  matters  that  can't  con- 
cern you,"  said  the  Gardener's  wife,  who  had  been 
thinking  what  a  nice  help  it  would  be  to  her  fire. 
To  be  sure,  it  was  not  her  lump  of  coal,  but  she 
thought  she  might  take  it;  the  mistress  would  nev- 
er miss  it,  or  the  Brownie  either.  He  must  be  a 
very  silly  old  Brownie  to  live  under  a  lump  of  coal. 

So  she  argued  with  herself,  and  made  the  men 
lift  it.  "You  must  lift  it,  you  see,  if  you  are  to 
sweep  the  coal-cellar  out  clean.  And  you  may  as 
well  put  it  on  the  barrow,  and  I'll  wheel  it  out  of 
your  way." 

This  she  said  in  quite  a  civil  voice,  lest  they 
should  tell  of  her,  and  stood  by  while  it  was  being 
done.    It  was  done  without  anything  happening, 


102  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

except  that  a  large  rat  ran  out  of  the  coal-cellar 
door,  bouncing  against  her  feet,  and  frightening 
her  so  much  that  she  nearly  tumbled  down. 

"See  what  nonsense  it  is  to  talk  of  Brownies 
living  in  a  coal-cellar.  Nothing  lives  there  but 
rats,  and  I'll  have  them  poisoned  pretty  soon,  and 
get  rid  of  them." 

But  she  was  rather  frightened  all  the  same, 
for  the  rat  had  been  such  a  very  big  rat,  and  had 
looked  at  her,  as  it  darted  past,  with  such  wild, 
bright,  mischievous  eyes — brown  eyes,  of  course — 
that  she  all  but  jumped  with  surprise. 

However,  she  had  gotten  her  lump  of  coal,  and 
was  wheeling  it  quietly  away,  nobody  seeing,  to  her 
cottage  at  the  bottom  of  the  garden.  She  was  a 
hard-worked  woman,  and  her  husband's  illness 
made  things  harder  for  her.  Still,  she  was  not 
quite  easy  at  taking  what  did  not  belong  to  her. 

"I  don't  suppose  anybody  will  miss  the  coal," 
she  repeated.  "I  dare  say  the  mistress  would  have 
given  it  to  me  if  I  had  asked  her;  and  as  for  its  be- 
ing the  Brownie's  lump — fudge!  Bless  us!  what's 
that?" 

For  the  barrow  began  to  creak  dreadfully,  and 
every  creak  sounded  like  the  cry  of  a  child,  just 
as  if  the  wheel  were  going  over  its  leg  and  crush- 
ing its  poor  little  bones. 


\2Z£- 


SUDDENLY,  THE  BARROW  TILTED  OVER 


104  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

"What  a  horrid  noise!  I  must  grease  the  bar- 
row. If  only  I  knew  where  they  keep  the  grease- 
box.  All  goes  wrong,  now  my  old  man's  laid  up. 
Oh,  dear!  oh  dear!" 

For  suddenly  the  barrow  had  tilted  over, 
though  there  was  not  a  single  stone  near,  and  the 
big  coal  was  tumbled  on  to  the  ground,  where  it 
broke  into  a  thousand  pieces.  Gathering  it  up  again 
was  hopeless,  and  it  made  such  a  mess  on  the  grav- 
el-walk, that  the  old  woman  was  thankful  her  mis- 
fortune happened  behind  the  privet  hedge,  where 
nobody  was  likely  to  come. 

"I'll  take  a  broom  and  sweep  it  up  tomorrow. 
Nobody  goes  near  the  orchard  now,  except  me 
when  I  hang  out  the  clothes;  so  I  need  say  nothing 
about  it  to  the  old  man  or  anybody.  But  ah!  deary 
me,  what  a  beautiful  lot  of  coal  I've  lost!" 

She  stood  and  looked  at  it  mournfully,  and 
then  went  into  her  cottage,  where  she  found  two 
or  three  of  the  little  children  keeping  Gardener 
company.  They  did  not  dislike  to  do  this  now; 
but  he  was  so  much  kinder  than  he  used  to  be — so 
quiet  and  patient,  though  he  suffered  very  much. 
And  he  had  never  once  reproached  them  for  what 
they  always  remembered — how  it  was  ever  since  he 
was  on  the  ice  with  them  that  he  had  had  the 
rheumatism. 


BROWNIE  AND  THE  CLOTHES  105 

So,  one  or  another  of  them  made  a  point  of 
going  to  see  him  every  day,  and  telling  him  all  the 
funny  things  they  could  think  of — indeed,  it  was 
a  contest  among  them  who  should  first  make 
Gardener  laugh.  They  did  not  succeed  in  doing 
that  exactly;  but  they  managed  to  make  him  smile; 
and  he  was  always  gentle  and  grateful  to  them;  so 
that  they  sometimes  thought  it  was  rather  nice 
his  being  ill. 

But  his  wife  was  not  pleasant;  she  grumbled 
all  day  long,  and  snapped  at  him  and  his  visitors; 
being  especially  snappish  this  day,  because  she  had 
lost  her  big  coal. 

"I  can't  have  you  children  come  bothering 
here,"  said  she,  crossly.  "I  want  to  wring  out  my 
clothes,  and  hang  them  to  dry.    Be  off  with  you!" 

"Let  us  stop  a  little — just  to  tell  Gardener  this 
one  curious  thing  about  Dolly  and  the  pig — and 
then  we'll  help  you  to  take  your  clothes  to  the 
orchard;  we  can  carry  your  basket  between  us — 
we  can,  indeed." 

That  was  the  last  thing  the  woman  wished; 
for  she  knew  that  the  children  would  be  sure  to  see 
the  mess  on  the  gravel  walk — and  they  were  such 
inquisitive  children — they  noticed  everything. 
They  would  want  to  know  all  about  it,  and  how 
the  bits  of  coal  came  there.    It  was  a  very  awk- 


106  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

ward  position.  But  people  who  take  other  people's 
property  often  do  find  themselves  in  awkward  po- 
sitions. 

"Thank  you,  young  gentlemen/'  said  she,  quite 
politely;  "but  indeed  the  basket  is  too  heavy  for 
you.  However,  you  may  stop  and  gossip  a  little 
longer  with  my  old  man.    He  likes  it." 

And,  while  they  were  shut  up  with  Gardener 
in  his  bedroom,  off  she  went,  carrying  the  basket 
on  her  head,  and  hung  her  clothes  carefully  out — 
the  big  things  on  lines  between  the  fruit  trees,  and 
the  little  things,  such  as  stockings  and  pocket- 
handkerchiefs,  stuck  on  the  gooseberry-bushes,  or 
spread  upon  the  clean  green  grass. 

"Such  a  fine  day  as  it  is;  they'll  dry  directly," 
said  she,  cheerfully,  to  herself.  "Plenty  of  sun,  and 
not  a  breath  of  wind  to  blow  them  about.  I'll 
leave  them  for  an  hour  or  two,  and  come  and  fetch 
them  in  before  it  grows  dark.  Then  I  shall  get  all 
my  folding  done  by  bed-time,  and  have  a  clear  day 
for  ironing  tomorrow." 

But  when  she  did  fetch  them  in,  having 
bundled  them  all  together  in  the  dusk  of  the  even- 
ing, never  was  such  a  sight  as  those  clothes!  They 
were  all  twisted  in  the  oddest  way — the  stockings 
turned  inside  out,  with  the  heels  and  toes  tucked 
into  the  legs;  the  sleeves  of  the  shirts  tied  together 


4 


^lice  cTrsev  ]fyf 


\>. 


BROWNIE  AND  THE  CLOTHES  107 

in  double  knots,  the  pocket-handkerchiefs  made 
into  round  balls,  so  tight  that  if  you  had  pelted 
a  person  with  them  they  would  have  given  very 
hard  blows  indeed.  And  the  whole  looked  as  if, 
instead  of  lying  quietly  on  the  grass  and  bushes, 
they  had  been  dragged  through  heaps  of  mud  and 
then  stamped  upon,  so  that  there  was  not  a  clean 
inch  upon  them  from  end  to  end. 

"What  a  horrid  mess!"  cried  the  Gardener's 
wife,  who  had  been  at  first  very  angry,  and  then 
very  frightened.  "But  I  know  what  it  is;  that  evil 
Boxer  has  gotten  loose  again.  It's  he  that  has 
done  it." 

"Boxer  wouldn't  tie  shirt-sleeves  in  double 
knots,  or  make  balls  of  pocket-handkerchiefs," 
Gardener  was  heard  to  answer,  solemnly. 

"Then  it's  those  horrid  children;  they  are  al- 
ways up  to  some  mischief  or  other — just  let  me 
catch  them!" 

"You'd  better  not,"  said  somebody  in  a  voice 
exactly  like  Gardener's,  though  he  himself  de- 
clared he  had  not  spoken  a  word.  Indeed,  he  was 
fast  asleep. 

"Well,  it's  the  most  extraordinary  thing  I  ever 
heard  of,"  the  Gardener's  wife  said,  supposing  she 
was  talking  to  her  husband  all  the  time;  but  soon 


108  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

she  held  her  tongue,  for  she  found  here  and  there 
among  the  clothes  all  sorts  of  queer  marks — marks 
of  fingers,  and  toes,  and  heels,  not  in  mud  at  all, 
but  in  coal-dust,  as  black  as  black  could  be. 

Now,  as  the  place  where  the  big  coal  had 
tumbled  out  of  the  barrow  was  fully  fifty  yards 
from  the  orchard,  and,  as  the  coal  could  not  come 
to  the  clothes,  and  the  clothes  could  not  go  with- 
out hands,  the  only  conclusion  she  could  arrive  at 
was — well,  no  particular  conclusion  at  all! 

It  was  too  late  that  night  to  begin  washing 
again;  besides,  she  was  extremely  tired,  and  her 
husband  woke  up  rather  worse  than  usual,  so  she 
just  bundled  the  clothes  up  anyhow  in  a  corner, 
put  the  kitchen  to  rights,  and  went  mournfully 
to  bed. 

Next  morning  she  got  up  long  before  it  was 
light,  washed  her  clothes  all  over  again,  and,  it  be- 
ing impossible  to  dry  them  by  the  fire,  went  out 
with  them  once  more,  and  began  spreading  them 
out  in  their  usual  corner,  in  a  hopeless  and  mel- 
ancholy manner.  While  she  was  at  it,  the  little 
folks  came  trooping  around  her.  She  didn't  scold 
them  this  time,  she  was  too  low-spirited. 

"No!  my  old  man  isn't  any  better,  and  I  don't 
fancy  he  ever  will  be,"  said  she,  in  answer  to  their 
questions.    "And  everything's  going  wrong  with 


BROWNIE  AND  THE  CLOTHES  109 

us — just  listen !"  And  she  told  the  trick  which  had 
been  played  her  about  the  clothes. 

The  little  people  tried  not  to  laugh,  but  it  was 
so  funny;  and  even  now,  the  minute  she  had  done 
hanging  them  out,  there  was  something  so  droll  in 
the  way  the  clothes  blew  about,  without  any  wind; 
the  shirts  hanging  with  their  necks  downward,  as 
if  there  was  a  man  inside  them;  and  the  drawers 
standing  stiffly  astride  on  the  gooseberry-bushes, 
for  all  the  world  as  if  they  held  a  pair  of  legs  still. 
As  for  Gardener's  night-caps — long,  white  cotton, 
with  a  tassel  at  the  top — they  were  alarming  to 
look  at,  just  like  a  head  stuck  on  the  top  of  a  pole. 

The  whole  thing  was  so  peculiar,  and  the  old 
woman  so  comical  in  her  despair,  that  the  children, 
after  trying  hard  to  keep  it  in,  at  last  broke  into 
shouts  of  laughter.  She  turned  furiously  upon 
them. 

"It  was  you  who  did  it!" 

"No,  indeed  it  wasn't!"  said  they,  jumping  far- 
ther to  escape  her  blows.  For  she  had  picked  up 
one  of  her  clothes-props,  and  was  laying  about  her 
in  the  most  reckless  manner.  However,  she  hurt 
nobody,  and  then  she  suddenly  burst  out,  not 
laughing,  but  crying. 

"It's  a  cruel  thing,  whoever  has  done  it,  to  play 
such  tricks  on  a  poor  old  body  like  me,  with  a  sick 


110  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

husband  that  she  works  hard  for,  and  not  a  child 
to  help  her.  But  I  don't  care.  I'll  wash  my  clothes 
again,  if  it's  twenty  times  over,  and  I'll  hang  them 
out  again  in  the  very  place,  just  to  make  you  all 
ashamed  of  yourselves. 

Perhaps  the  little  people  were  ashamed  of 
themselves,  though  they  really  had  not  done  the 
mischief.  But  they  knew  quite  well  who  had  done 
it,  and  more  than  once  they  were  about  to  tell; 
only  they  were  afraid,  if  they  did  so,  they  should 
vex  the  Brownie  so  much  that  he  would  never  come 
and  play  with  them  any  more. 

So  they  looked  at  one  another  without  speak- 
ing, and  when  the  Gardener's  wife  had  emptied 
her  basket  and  dried  her  eyes,  they  said  to  her,  very 
kindly: 

"Perhaps  no  harm  may  come  to  your  clothes 
this  time.  We'll  sit  and  watch  them  till  they  are 
dry." 

"Just  as  you  like;  I  don't  care.  Them  that 
hides  can  find,  and  them  that  plays  tricks  knows 
how  to  stop  'em." 

It  was  not  a  civil  speech,  but  then  things  were 
hard  for  the  poor  old  woman.  She  had  been  awake 
nearly  all  night,  and  up  washing  at  day-break;  her 
eyes  were  red  with  crying,  and  her  steps  weary 
and  slow.    The  little  children  felt  quite  sorry  for 


BROWNIE  AND  THE  CLOTHES  111 

her,  and,  instead  of  going  to  play,  sat  watching 
the  clothes  as  patiently  as  possible. 

Nothing  came  near  them.  Sometimes,  as  be- 
fore, the  things  seemed  to  dance  about  without 
hands,  and  turn  into  odd  shapes,  as  if  there  were 
people  inside  them;  but  not  a  creature  was  seen, 
and  not  a  sound  was  heard.  And  though  there  was 
neither  wind  nor  sun,  very  soon  all  the  linen  was 
perfectly  dry. 

"Fetch  one  of  mother's  baskets,  and  we'll  fold 
things  up  as  tidily  as  possible — that  is,  the  girls  can 
do  it,  it's  their  business — and  we  boys  will  carry  it 
safe  to  Gardener's  cottage." 

So  said  they,  not  liking  to  say  that  they  could 
not  trust  it  out  of  their  sight  for  fear  of  Brownie, 
whom,  indeed,  they  were  expecting  to  see  peer 
round  from  every  bush.  They  began  to  have  a 
secret  fear  that  he  was  rather  a  naughty  Brownie; 
but  then,  as  the  eldest  little  girl  whispered,  "He 
was  only  a  Brownie,  and  knew  no  better."  Now 
they  were  growing  quite  big  children,  who  would 
be  men  and  women  some  time;  when  they  hoped 
they  would  never  do  anything  wrong.  (Their  par- 
ents hoped  the  same,  but  doubted  it.) 

In  a  serious  and  careful  manner  they  folded  up 
the  clothes,  and  laid  them  one  by  one  in  the  basket 
without  any  mischief,  until,  just  as  the  two  biggest 


112  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

boys  were  lifting"  their  burden  to  carry  it  away, 
they  felt  something-  tugging  at  it  from  under- 
neath. 

"Halloo!!  Where  are  you  taking  all  this  rub- 
bish?  Better  give  it  to  me." 

"No,  if  you  please,"  said  they,  very  civilly,  not 
to  offend  the  little  brown  man.  "We'll  not  trouble 
you,  thanks!  We'd  rather  do  it  ourselves;  for  poor 
old  Gardener  is  very  ill,  and  his  wife  is  very  mis- 
erable, and  we  are  extremely  sorry  for  them  both." 

"Extremely  sorry!"  cried  Brownie,  throwing 
up  his  cap  in  the  air,  and  tumbling  head  over  heels 
in  an  excited  manner.  "What  in  the  world  does 
extremely  sorry  mean?" 

The  children  could  not  explain,  especially  to  a 
Brownie;  but  they  thought  they  understood — any- 
how, they  felt  it.  And  they  looked  so  sorrowful 
that  the  Brownie  could  not  tell  what  to  make  of  it. 

He  could  not  be  said  to  be  sorry,  since,  being  a 
Brownie,  and  not  a  human  being,  knowing  right 
from  wrong,  he  never  tried  particularly  to  do 
right,  and  had  no  idea  when  he  was  doing  wrong. 
But  he  seemed  to  have  an  idea  that  he  was  trou- 
bling the  children,  and  he  never  liked  to  see  them 
look  unhappy. 

So  he  turned  head  over  heels  six  times  run- 
ning, and  then  came  back  again. 


BROWNIE  AND  THE  CLOTHES  113 

"The  silly  old  woman !  I  washed  her  clothes  for 
her  last  night  in  a  way  she  didn't  expect.  I  hadn't 
any  soap,  so  I  used  a  little  mud  and  coal-dust,  and 
very  pretty  they  looked.  Ha,  ha,  ha!  Shall  I  wash 
them  over  again  tonight?" 

"Oh,  no,  please  don't!"  implored  the  children. 

"Shall  I  starch  and  iron  them?  I'll  do  it  beauti- 
fully. One — two — three,  five — six — seven,  Abra- 
cadabra, turn — turn — ti!"  shouted  he,  jabbering  all 
sorts  of  nonsense,  as  it  seemed  to  the  children,  and 
playing  such  antics  that  they  stood  and  stared  in 
the  utmost  amazement,  and  quite  forgot  the 
clothes.  When  they  looked  round  again,  the  basket 
was  gone. 

"Seek  'till  you  find,  seek  'till  you  find, 
Under  the  biggest  gooseberry-bush, 
Exactly  to  your  mind." 

They  heard  him  singing  this  remarkable 
rhyme,  long  after  they  had  lost  sight  of  him.  And 
then  they  all  set  about  searching;  but  it  was  a  long 
while  before  they  found,  and  still  longer  before 
they  could  decide,  which  was  the  biggest  goose- 
berry-bush, each  child  having  his  or  her  opinion — 
sometimes  a  very  strong  one — on  the  matter.  At 
last  they  agreed  to  settle  it  by  pulling  half  a  dozen 


mMaSm 


I  SHOULD  LIKE  A  BROWNIE  TO  PLAY  WITH  ME 


BROWNIE  AND  THE  CLOTHES  115 

little  sticks,  to  see  which  stick  was  the  longest,  and 
the  child  that  held  it  was  to  decide  the  gooseberry- 
bush. 

This  done,  underneath  the  branches  what 
should  they  find  but  the  identical  basket  of  clothes! 
only,  instead  of  being  roughly  dried,  they  were  all 
starched  and  ironed  in  the  most  beautiful  manner. 
As  for  the  shirts,  they  really  were  a  picture  to  be- 
hold, and  the  stockings  were  all  folded  up,  and 
even  darned  in  one  or  two  places,  as  neatly  as 
possible.  And  strange  to  tell,  there  was  not  a  sin- 
gle black  mark  of  feet  or  fingers  on  any  one  of 
them. 

"Kind  little  Brownie!  clever  little  Brownie !" 
cried  the  children  in  chorus,  and  thought  this  was 
the  most  astonishing  trick  he  had  ever  played. 

What  the  Gardener's  wife  said  about  it, 
whether  they  told  her  anything,  or  allowed  her  to 
suppose  that  the  clothes  had  been  done  in  their 
own  laundry  instead  of  the  Brownie's  (wherever 
that  establishment  might  be,  is  more  than  I  can 
tell.  Of  one  thing  only  I  am  certain — that  the  little 
people  said  nothing  but  what  was  true.  Also,  that 
the  very  minute  they  reached  home  they  told  their 
mother  everything. 

But  for  a  long  time  after  that  they  were  a 
good  deal  troubled.   Gardener  got  better,  and  went 


116  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

hobbling  about  the  place  again,  to  his  own  and 
everybody's  great  content,  and  his  wife  was  less 
sharp-tongued  and  complaining  than  usual — in- 
deed, she  had  nothing  to  complain  of.  All  the  fam- 
ily were  very  flourishing,  except  the  little  Brownie. 

Often  there  was  heard  a  curious  sound  all  over 
the  house;  it  might  have  been  rats  squeaking  be- 
hind the  wainscot — the  elders  said  it  was — but  the 
children  were  sure  it  was  a  sort  of  weeping  and 
wailing. 

"They've  stolen  my  coal, 
And  I  haven't  a  hole 

To  hide  in; 
Not  even  a  house 
One  could  ask  a  mouse 

To  bide  in." 

A  most  forlorn  tune  it  was,  ending  in  a  dreary 
minor  key,  and  it  lasted  for  months  and  months — 
at  least  the  children  said  it  did.  And  they  were 
growing  quite  dull  for  want  of  a  playfellow,  when, 
by  the  greatest  good  luck  in  the  world,  there  came 
to  the  house  not  only  a  new  lot  of  kittens,  but  a  new 
baby.  And  the  new  baby  was  everybody's  pet,  in- 
cluding the  Brownie's. 

From  that  time,  though  he  was  not  often  seen, 
he  was  continually  heard  up  and  down  the  stair- 


BROWNIE  AND  THE  CLOTHES  117 

case,  where  he  was  frequently  mistaken  for  Tiny 
or  the  cat,  and  sent  sharply  down  again,  which  was 
wasting  a  great  deal  of  wholesome  anger  upon 
Mr.  Nobody.  Or  he  lurked  in  odd  corners  of  the 
nursery,  whither  the  baby  was  seen  crawling 
eagerly  after  nothing  in  particular,  or  sitting 
laughing  with  all  her  might  at  something — prob- 
ably her  own  toes. 

But,  as  Brownie  was  never  seen,  he  was  never 
suspected.  And  since  he  did  no  mischief — neither 
pinched  the  baby  nor  broke  the  toys,  left  no  soap 
in  the  bath  and  no  foot-marks  about  the  room — 
but  was  always  a  well-conducted  Brownie  in  every 
way,  he  was  allowed  to  inhabit  the  nursery  (or  sup- 
posed to  do  so,  since,  as  nobody  saw  him,  nobody 
could  prevent  him),  until  the  children  were  grown 
up  into  men  and  women. 

After  that  he  retired  into  his  coal-cellar,  and, 
for  all  I  know,  he  may  live  there  still,  and  have  gone 
through  hundreds  of  adventures  since;  but  as  I 
never  heard  them,  I  can't  tell  them.  Only  I  think, 
if  I  could  be  a  little  child  again,  I  should  exceed- 
ingly like  a  Brownie  to  play  with  me.  Should  not 
you? 


cTke  Fair  One  wifh  Golden  Locks 


rarwpgta 


THE  FAIR  ONE 
WITH  GOLDEN  LOCKS  I 


THERE  was  once  a  king's  daughter  so  beauti- 
ful that  they  named  her  the  Fair  One  with 
Golden  Locks.  These  golden  locks  were  the  most 
remarkable  in  the  world,  soft  and  fine  and  falling 
in  long  waves  down  to  her  very  feet.  She  wore 
them  always  thus,  loose  and  flowing,  surmounted 
with  a  wreath  of  flowers. 

Now,  there  was  a  young  king  of  a  neighboring 
country,  very  handsome,  very  rich,  and  wanting 
nothing  but  a  wife  to  make  him  happy.  He  heard 
so  much  of  the  various  perfections  of  the  Fair  One 
with  Golden  Locks,  that,  at  last,  without  even  see- 
ing her,  he  fell  in  love  with  her  so  desperately  that 
he  could  neither  eat  nor  drink,  and  resolved  to 
send  an  ambassador  at  once  to  demand  her  in  mar- 

121 


122  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

riage.  So  he  ordered  a  magnificent  equipage — > 
more  than  a  hundred  horses  and  a  hundred  foot- 
men— in  order  to  bring  back  to  him  the  Fair  One 
with  Golden  Locks,  who,  he  never  doubted,  would 
be  only  too  happy  to  become  his  queen.  Indeed, 
he  felt  so  sure  of  her  that  he  refurnished  the  whole 
palace,  and  had  made,  by  all  the  dress-makers  of 
the  city,  dresses  enough  to  last  a  lady  for  a  life- 
time. But,  alas,  when  the  ambassador  arrived  and 
delivered  his  message,  either  the  princess  was  in 
a  bad  humor  or  the  offer  did  not  appear  to  be  to 
her  taste;  for  she  returned  her  best  thanks  to  his 
majesty,  but  said  she  had  not  the  slightest  wish 
or  intention  to  be  married. 

When  the  ambassador  returned,  alone  and 
unsuccessful,  all  the  court  was  very  much  affected 
and  the  king  himself  began  to  weep  with  all  his 
might.  Now,  there  was  in  the  palace  household  a 
young  gentleman  named  Avenant,  beautiful  as 
the  sun,  besides  being  at  once  so  amiable  and  so 
wise  that  the  king  confided  to  him  all  his  affairs; 
and  every  one  loved  him,  except  a  few  who  were 
envious  of  his  good  fortune.  These  malicious  folk 
hearing  him  say  gayly,  "If  the  king  had  sent  me  to 
fetch  the  Fair  One  with  Golden  Locks,  I  know  she 
would  have  come  back  with  me,"  repeated  the  say- 
ing in  such  a  manner  that  it  appeared  as  if  Ave- 
nant thought  so  much  of  himself  and  his  beauty, 


THE  FAIR  ONE  WITH  GOLDEN  LOCKS      123 

and  felt  sure  the  princess  would  have  followed  him 
all  over  the  world;  which  when  it  came  to  the  ears 
of  the  king,  as  it  was  meant  to  do,  irritated  him  so 
much  that  he  commanded  Avenant  to  be  impris- 
oned in  a  high  tower,  and  left  to  die  there  of  hun- 
ger. The  guards  accordingly  carried  off  the 
young  man,  who  had  quite  forgotten  his  idle 
speech,  and  had  not  the  least  idea  what  fault  he 
had  committed.  They  ill-treated  him  very  much, 
and  then  left  him,  with  nothing  to  eat  and  only 
water  to  drink.  This,  however,  kept  him  alive  for 
a  few  days,  during  which  he  did  not  cease  to  com- 
plain aloud,  and  to  call  upon  the  king,  saying,  uO 
king,  what  harm  have  I  done?  You  have  no  sub- 
ject more  faithful  than  I.  Never  have  I  had  a 
thought  which  could  offend  you." 

And  it  so  befell  that  the  king,  coming  by 
chance,  or  else  with  a  sort  of  remorse,  past  the 
tower,  was  touched  by  the  voice  of  young  Avenant, 
whom  he  had  once  so  much  regarded.  In  spite  of 
the  courtiers  who  tried  to  prevent  him,  he  stopped 
to  listen,  and  overheard  these  words.  The  tears 
rushed  into  his  eyes;  he  opened  the  door  of  the 
tower  and  called,  "Avenant!"  Avenant  came, 
creeping  feebly  along,  fell  at  the  king's  knees,  and 
kissed  his  feet. 

"0  sire,  what  have  I  done  that  you  should  treat 
me  so  cruelly?" 


124  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

"You  have  mocked  me  and  my  ambassador, 
for  you  said  if  I  had  sent  you  to  fetch  the  Fair  One 
with  Golden  Locks,  you  would  have  been  successful 
and  brought  her  back." 

"I  did  say  it,  and  it  was  true,"  replied  Ave- 
nant  fearlessly;  "for  I  should  have  told  her  so 
much  about  your  majesty  and  your  various  high 
qualities,  which  no  one  knows  so  well  as  myself, 
that  I  am  persuaded  she  would  have  returned  with 
me." 

"I  believe  it,"  said  the  king,  with  an  angry  look 
at  those  who  had  spoken  ill  of  his  favorite;  he  then 
gave  Avenant  a  free  pardon,  and  took  him  back 
with  him  to  the  court. 

After  having  supplied  the  famished  youth 
with  as  much  supper  as  he  could  eat,  the  king  ad- 
mitted him  to  a  private  audience,  and  said:  "I  am 
as  much  in  love  as  ever  with  the  Fair  One  with 
Golden  Locks,  so  I  will  take  thee  at  thy  word  and 
send  thee  to  try  and  win  her  for  me." 

"Very  well,  please  your  majesty,"  replied 
Avenant  cheerfully;  "I  will  depart  tomorrow." 

The  king,  overjoyed  with  his  willingness  and 
hopefulness,  would  have  furnished  him  with  a  still 
more  magnificent  equipage  and  suite  than  the  first 
ambassador;  but  Avenant  refused  to  take  any- 
thing except  a  good  horse  to  ride  and  letters  of  in- 


THE  FAIR  ONE  WITH  GOLDEN  LOCKS      125 

troduction  to  the  princess'  father.    The  king  em- 
braced him  and  eagerly  saw  him  depart. 

It  was  on  a  Monday  morning  when  Avenant 
thus  started  on  his  mission.  He  came  to  a  great 
meadow  with  a  stream  running  through  it,  along 
which  were  planted  willows  and  poplars.  It  was 
such  a  pleasant,  rippling  stream  that  he  dismount- 
ed and  sat  down  on  its  bank.  There  he  perceived 
a  large  golden  carp,  which,  in  leaping  too  far  after 
gnats,  had  thrown  itself  quite  out  of  the  water, 
and  now  lay  dying  on  the  greensward.  Avenant 
took  pity  on  it,  and  though  he  was  very  hungry 
and  the  fish  was  very  fat,  and  he  would  well  enough 
have  liked  it  for  his  breakfast,  still  he  lifted  it 
gently  and  put  it  back  into  the  stream.  No  sooner 
had  the  carp  touched  the  fresh  cool  water  than  it 
revived  and  swam  away;  but  shortly  returning,  it 
spoke  to  him  from  the  water  in  this  wise: 

"Avenant,  I  thank  you  for  your  good  deed.  I 
was  dying,  and  you  have  saved  me;  I  will  recom- 
pense you  for  this  some  day." 

After  this  pretty  little  speech,  the  fish  popped 
down  to  the  bottom  of  the  stream,  according  to 
the  habit  of  carp,  leaving  Avenant  very  much  as- 
tonished. 

Another  day  he  met  with  a  raven  that  was  in 
great  distress,  being  pursued  by  an  eagle,  which 


126  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

would  have  swallowed  him  up  in  no  time.  "See," 
thought  Avenant,  "how  the  stronger  oppress  the 
weaker!  What  right  has  an  eagle  to  eat  up  a 
raven?"  So  taking  his  bow  and  arrow,  which  he 
always  carried,  he  shot  the  eagle  dead,  and  the 
raven,  delighted,  perched  in  safety  on  an  opposite 
tree. 

"Avenant,"  screeched  he,  though  not  in  the 
sweetest  voice  in  the  world,  "you  have  generously 
succored  me,  a  poor  miserable  raven.  I  am  not  un- 
grateful, and  I  will  recompense  you  one  day." 

"Thank  you,"  said  Avenant,  and  continued  his 
road. 

Entering  in  a  thick  wood,  so  dark  with  the 
shadows  of  early  morning  that  he  could  scarcely 
find  his  way,  he  heard  an  owl  hooting,  like  an  owl 
in  great  tribulation.  She  had  been  caught  by  the 
nets  spread  by  bird-catchers  to  entrap  finches, 
larks,  and  other  small  birds.  "What  a  pity," 
thought  Avenant,  "that  men  must  always  torment 
poor  birds  and  beasts  who  have  done  them  no 
harm."  So  he  took  out  his  knife,  cut  the  net  and 
let  the  owl  go  free.  She  went  sailing  up  into  the 
air,  but  immediately  returned,  hovering  over  his 
head  on  her  brown  wings. 

"Avenant,"  said  she,  "at  daylight  the  bird- 
catchers  would  have  been  here,  and  I  should  have 


THE  FAIR  ONE  WITH  GOLDEN  LOCKS      127 

been  caught  and  killed.    I  have  a  grateful  heart; 
I  will  recompense  you  one  day." 

These  were  the  three  principal  adventures  that 
befell  Avenant  on  his  way  to  the  kingdom  of  the 
Fair  One  with  Golden  Locks.  Arrived  there,  he 
dressed  himself  with  the  greatest  care,  in  a  habit 
of  silver  brocade  and  a  hat  adorned  with  plumes 
of  scarlet  and  white.  He  threw  over  all  a  rich  man- 
tle, and  carried  a  little  basket,  in  which  was  a  love- 
ly dog,  an  offering  of  respect  to  the  princess.  With 
this  he  presented  himself  at  the  palace  gates, 
where,  even  though  he  came  alone,  his  mien  was 
so  dignified  and  graceful,  so  altogether  charming, 
that  every  one  did  him  reverence,  and  was  eager 
to  run  and  tell  the  Fair  One  with  Golden  Locks  that 
Avenant,  another  ambassador  from  the  king  her 
suitor,  awaited  an  audience. 

"Avenant!"  repeated  the  princess.  "That  is  a 
pretty  name;  perhaps  the  youth  is  pretty,  too." 

"So  beautiful,"  said  the  ladies  of  honor,  "that 
while  he  stood  under  the  palace  window  we  could 
do  nothing  but  look  at  him." 

"How  silly  of  you!"  sharply  said  the  princess. 
But  she  desired  them  to  bring  her  robe  of  blue 
satin,  to  comb  out  her  long  hair  and  adorn  it  with 
the  freshest  garland  of  flowers;  to  give  her  her 
high-heeled  shoes  and  her  fan.   "Also,"  added  she, 


128  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

"take  care  that  my  audience-chamber  is  well 
swept  and  my  throne  well  dusted.  I  wish  in  every- 
thing to  appear  as  becomes  the  Fair  One  with 
Golden  Locks." 

This  done,  she  seated  herself  on  her  throne  of 
ivory  and  ebony,  and  gave  orders  for  her  musicians 
to  play,  but  softly,  so  as  not  to  disturb  conversa- 
tion. Thus,  shining  in  all  her  beauty,  she  admitted 
Avenant  to  her  presence. 

He  was  so  dazzled  that  at  first  he  could  not 
speak;  then  he  began  and  delivered  his  harrangue 
to  perfection. 

"Gentle  Avenant,"  returned  the  princess,  aft- 
er listening  to  all  his  reasons  for  her  returning 
with  him,  "your  arguments  are  very  strong,  and  I 
am  inclined  to  listen  to  them;  but  you  must  first 
find  for  me  a  ring  which  I  dropped  into  the  river 
about  a  month  ago.  Until  I  recover  it,  I  can  listen 
to  no  proposition  of  marriage." 

Avenant,  surprised  and  disturbed,  made  her 
a  profound  reverence  and  retired,  taking  with  him 
the  basket  and  the  little  dog  Cabriole,  which  she 
refused  to  accept.  All  night  long  he  sat  sighing 
to  himself,  "How  can  I  ever  find  a  ring  which  she 
dropped  into  the  river  a  month  ago?  She  has  set 
me  an  utter  impossibility." 

"My  dear  master,"  said  Cabriole,  "nothing  is 


THE  FAIR  ONE  WITH  GOLDEN  LOCKS      129 

an  impossibility  to  one  so  young  and  charming  as 
you  are;  let  us  go  at  daybreak  to  the  river  side." 

Avenant  patted  him,  but  replied  nothing;  un- 
til, worn  out  with  grief,  he  slept.  Before  dawn 
Cabriole  wakened  him,  saying,  "Master,  dress 
yourself  and  let  us  go  to  the  river." 

There  Avenant  walked  up  and  down,  with  his 
arms  folded  and  his  head  bent,  but  saw  nothing. 
At  last  he  heard  a  voice,  calling  from  a  distance, 
"Avenant!  Avenant!" 

The  little  dog  ran  to  the  water-side — "Never 
believe  me  again,  master,  if  it  is  not  a  golden  carp 
with  a  ring  in  its  mouth!" 

"Yes,  Avenant,"  said  the  carp,  "this  is  the  ring 
which  the  princess  has  lost.  You  saved  my  life  in 
the  willow  meadow,  and  I  have  recompensed  you. 
Farewell!" 

Avenant  took  the  ring  gratefully  and  returned 
to  the  palace  with  Cabriole,  who  scampered  about 
in  great  glee.  Craving  an  audience,  he  presented 
the  princess  with  her  ring,  and  begged  her  to  ac- 
company him  to  his  master's  kingdom.  She  took 
the  ring,  looked  at  it,  and  thought  she  was  surely 
dreaming. 

"Some  fairy  must  have  assisted  you,  fortu- 
nate Avenant,"  said  she. 


130  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

"Madam,  I  am  only  fortunate  in  my  desire  to 
obey  your  wishes." 

"Obey  me  still,"  she  said  graciously.  "There 
is  a  prince  named  Galifron,  whose  suit  I  have  re- 
fused. He  is  a  giant  as  tall  as  a  tower,  who  eats  a 
man  as  a  monkey  eats  a  nut;  he  puts  cannons  into 
his  pockets  instead  of  pistols;  and  when  he  speaks, 
his  voice  is  so  loud  that  every  one  near  him  becomes 
deaf.    Go  and  fight  him,  and  bring  me  his  head." 

Avenant  was  thunderstruck;  but  after  a  time 
he  recovered  himself — "Very  well,  madan.  I  shall 
certainly  perish,  but  I  will  perish  like  a  brave  man. 
I  will  depart  at  once  to  fight  the  giant  Galifron." 

The  princess,  now  in  her  turn  surprised  and 
alarmed,  tried  to  induce  him  not  to  go,  but  in  vain. 
Avenant  armed  himself  and  started  off,  carrying 
his  little  dog  in  its  basket.  Cabriole  was  the  only 
creature  that  gave  him  consolation:  "Courage, 
master!  While  you  attack  the  giant,  I  will  bite  his 
legs:  he  will  stoop  down  to  strike  me,  and  then  you 
can  knock  him  on  the  head."  Avenant  smiled  at 
the  little  dog's  spirit,  but  he  knew  it  was  useless. 

Arrived  at  the  castle  of  Galifron,  he  found  the 
road  all  strewn  with  bones  and  carcasses  of  men. 
Soon  he  saw  the  giant  walking.  His  head  was 
level  with  the  highest  trees,  and  he  sang  in  a  ter- 
rific voice: 


"OBEY  ME  STILL,"  SHE  SAID  GRACIOUSLY 


132  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

"Bring  me  babies  to  devour; 
More — more — more — more 
Men  and  women,  tender  and  tough; 
All  the  world  holds  not  enough." 

To  which  Avenant  replied,  imitating  the  tune: 

"Avenant  you  here  may  see; 
He  is  come  to  punish  thee, 
Be  he  tender,  be  he  tough, 
To  kill  thee,  giant,  he  is  enough." 

Hearing  these  words,  the  giant  took  up  his 
massive  club,  looked  around  for  the  singer,  and, 
perceiving  him,  would  have  slain  him  on  the  spot, 
had  not  a  raven,  sitting  on  a  tree  close  by,  suddenly 
flown  out  upon  him  and  picked  out  both  his  eyes. 
Then  Avenant  easily  killed  him  and  cut  off  his 
head,  while  the  raven,  watching  him,  said: 

"You  shot  the  eagle  who  was  pursuing  me. 
I  promised  to  recompense  you  and  today  I  have 
done  it.   We  are  quits." 

"No,  it  is  I  who  am  your  debtor,  Sir  Raven," 
replied  Avenant,  as,  hanging  the  frightful  head  to 
his  saddle-bow,  he  mounted  his  horse  and  rode 
back  to  the  city  of  the  Fair  One  with  Golden  Locks. 

There  everybody  followed  him,  shouting, 
"Here  is  brave  Avenant,  who  has  killed  the  giant," 
until  the  princess,  hearing  the  noise,  and  fearing  it 


THE  FAIR  ONE  WITH  GOLDEN  LOCKS      133 

was  Avenant  himself  who  was  killed,  appeared,  all 
trembling,  and  even  when  he  appeared  with  Gali- 
fron's  head,  she  trembled  still,  although  she  had 
nothing  to  fear. 

"Madam,"  said  Avenant,  "your  enemy  is  dead; 
so  I  trust  you  will  accept  the  hand  of  the  king  my 
master." 

"I  cannot,"  replied  she  thoughtfully,  "unless 
you  first  bring  me  a  vial  of  the  water  in  the  Grotto 
of  Darkness.  It  is  six  leagues  in  length,  and  guard- 
ed at  the  entrance  by  two  fiery  dragons.  Within 
it  is  a  pit,  full  of  scorpions,  lizards,  and  serpents, 
and  at  the  bottom  of  this  place  flows  the  Fountain 
of  Beauty  and  Health.  All  who  wash  in  it  become, 
if  ugly,  beautiful,  and  if  beautiful,  beautiful  for- 
ever; if  old,  young;  and  if  young,  young  forever. 
Judge  then,  Avenant,  if  I  can  quit  my  kingdom 
without  carrying  with  me  some  of  this  miraculous 
water." 

"Madam,"  replied  Avenant,  "you  are  already 
so  beautiful  that  you  require  it  not;  but  I  am  an  un- 
fortunate ambassador  whose  death  you  desire.  I 
will  obey  you,  though  I  know  I  shall  never  return." 

So  he  departed  with  his  only  friends — his 
horse  and  his  faithful  dog  Cabriole;  while  all  who 
met  him  looked  at  him  compassionately,  pitying 
so  pretty  a  youth  bound  on  such  a  hopeless  errand. 


134  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

But  however  kindly  they  addressed  him,  Avenant 
rode  on  and  answered  nothing,  for  he  was  too  sad 
at  heart. 

He  reached  a  mountain  side,  where  he  sat 
down  to  rest,  leaving  his  horse  to  graze  and  Cab- 
riole to  run  after  the  flies.  He  knew  that  the  Grot- 
to of  Darkness  was  not  far  off,  yet  he  looked  about 
him  like  one  who  sees  nothing.  At  last  he  perceived 
a  rock,  as  black  as  ink,  whence  came  a  thick  smoke; 
and  in  a  moment  appeared  one  of  the  two  dragons, 
breathing  out  flames.  It  had  a  yellow  and  green 
body,  claws,  and  a  long  tail.  When  Cabriole  saw 
the  monster,  the  poor  little  dog  hid  himself  in  ter- 
rible fright.  But  Avenant  resolved  to  die  brave- 
ly; so,  taking  a  vial  which  the  princess  had  given 
him,  he  prepared  to  descend  into  the  cave. 

"Cabriole,"  said  he,  "I  shall  soon  be  dead;  then 
fill  this  vial  with  my  blood  and  carry  it  to  the  Fair 
One  with  Golden  Locks,  and  afterward  to  the  king 
my  master,  to  show  him  I  have  been  faithful  to 
the  last." 

While  he  was  thus  speaking,  a  voice  called, 
"Avenant!  Avenant!" — and  he  saw  an  owl  sitting 
on  a  hollow  tree.  Said  the  owl:  "You  cut  the  net  in 
which  I  was  caught,  and  I  vowed  to  recompense 
you.  Now  is  the  time.  Give  me  the  vial;  I  know 
every  corner  of  the  Grotto  of  Darkness — I  will 
fetch  you  the  water  of  beauty." 


THE  FAIR  ONE  WITH  GOLDEN  LOCKS      135 

Delighted  beyond  words,  Avenant  delivered 
up  his  vial;  the  owl  flew  with  it  into  the  grotto  and 
in  less  than  half  an  hour  reappeared,  bringing  it 
quite  full  and  well  corked.  Avenant  thanked  her 
with  all  his  heart,  and  joyfully  took  once  more  the 
road  to  the  city. 

The  Fair  One  with  Golden  Locks  had  no  more 
to  say.  She  consented  to  accompany  him  back,  with 
all  her  suite,  to  his  master's  court.  On  the  way 
thither,  she  saw  so  much  of  him,  and  found  him  so 
charming,  that  Avenant  might  have  married  her 
himself  had  he  chosen;  but  he  would  not  have  been 
false  to  his  master  for  all  the  beauties  under  the 
sun.  At  length  they  arrived  at  the  king's  city,  and 
the  Fair  One  with  Golden  Locks  became  the  king's 
spouse  and  queen.  But  she  still  loved  Avenant  in 
her  heart,  and  often  said  to  the  king  her  lord:  "But 
for  Avenant  I  should  not  be  here;  he  has  done  all 
sorts  of  impossible  deeds  for  my  sake;  he  has 
fetched  me  the  water  of  beauty,  and  I  shall  never 
grow  old — in  short,  I  owe  him  everything." 

And  she  praised  him  so  much  that  at  length 
the  king  became  jealous;  and  though  Avenant  gave 
him  not  the  slightest  cause  of  offense,  he  shut  him 
up  in  the  same  high  tower  once  more — but  with 
irons  on  his  hands  and  feet,  and  a  cruel  jailer  be- 
sides, who  fed  him  with  bread  and  water  only.  His 
sole  companion  was  his  little  dog  Cabriole. 


136  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

When  the  Fair  One  with  Golden  Locks  heard 
of  this  she  reproached  her  husband  for  his  ingrati- 
tude, and  then,  throwing  herself  at  his  knees,  im- 
plored that  Avenant  might  be  set  free.  But  the 
king  only  said,  "She  loves  him!"  and  refused  her 
prayer.  The  queen  entreated  no  more,  but  fell  into 
a  deep  melancholy. 

When  the  king  saw  it,  he  thought  she  did  not 
care  for  him  because  he  was  not  handsome  enough, 
and  that  if  he  could  wash  his  face  with  the  water 
of  beauty,  it  would  make  her  love  him  more.  He 
knew  that  she  kept  it  in  a  cabinet  in  her  chamber, 
where  she  could  find  it  always. 

Now,  it  happened  that  a  waiting-maid  in  clean- 
ing out  this  cabinet  had  the  very  day  before 
knocked  down  the  vial,  which  was  broken  in  a 
thousand  pieces,  and  all  the  contents  were  lost. 
Very  much  alarmed,  she  then  remembered  seeing, 
in  a  cabinet  belonging  to  the  king,  a  similar  vial. 
This  she  fetched  and  put  in  the  place  of  the  other 
one,  in  which  had  been  the  water  of  beauty.  But 
the  king's  vial  contained  the  water  of  death.  It  was 
a  poison,  used  to  destroy  great  criminals — that  is, 
noblemen,  gentlemen,  and  such  like.  Instead  of 
hanging  them  or  cutting  their  heads  off,  like  com- 
mon people,  they  were  compelled  to  wash  their 
faces  with  this  water;  upon  which  they  fell  asleep 
and  woke  no  more.    So  it  happened  that  the  king, 


THE  FAIR  ONE  WITH  GOLDEN  LOCKS      137 

taking  up  this  vial,  believing  it  to  be  the  water  of 
beauty,  washed  his  face  with  it,  fell  asleep,  and — 
died. 

Cabriole  heard  the  news,  and  gliding  in  and 
out  among  the  crowd  which  clustered  round  the 
young  and  lovely  widow,  whispered  softly  to  her: 
"Madam,  do  not  forget  poor  Avenant."  If  she  had 
been  disposed  to  do  so,  the  sight  of  his  little  dog 
would  have  been  enough  to  remind  her  of  him — 
his  many  sufferings  and  his  great  fidelity.  She  rose 
up,  without  speaking  to  anybody,  went  straight 
to  the  tower  where  Avenant  was  confined.  There, 
with  her  own  hands,  she  struck  off  his  chains,  and 
putting  a  crown  of  gold  on  his  head  and  a  purple 
mantle  on  his  shoulders,  said  to  him,  "Be  king — 
and  my  husband." 

Avenant  could  not  refuse;  for  in  his  heart  he 
had  loved  her  all  the  time.  He  threw  himself  at 
her  feet,  and  then  took  the  crown  and  scepter,  and 
ruled  her  kingdom  like  a  king.  All  the  people  were 
delighted  to  have  him  as  their  sovereign.  The  mar- 
riage was  celebrated  in  all  imaginable  pomp,  and 
Avenant  and  the  Fair  One  with  Golden  Locks  lived 
and  reigned  happily  together  all  their  days. 


c[\xe  WcDdcutter  s  daughter- 


cIWe  Woodcutter's 
^au^Ktei^ 


rT^HERE  was  once  a  poor  woodcutter,  very  mis- 
-*-  erable,  though  prudent  and  industrious;  he 
had  a  wife  and  three  grown-up  sons,  yet  their  unit- 
ed labors  scarcely  sufficed  for  bread.  No  hope  ap- 
peared of  improving  his  lot,  when  he  was  one  day 
fortunate  enough  to  save  the  life  of  his  master 
when  he  was  attacked  by  robbers  in  the  forest. 

This  master  was  not  ungrateful;  he  desired 
the  woodcutter  to  come  to  him  on  the  following 
day  in  order  to  receive  a  reward.  The  poor  man 
did  not  fail,  hoping  to  gain  two  or  three  crowns; 
for  it  appeared  so  natural  to  defend  an  unarmed 
man  that  he  attached  little  value  to  his  services, 
considering  his  own  danger  not  worth  a  thought. 
He  put  on  his  best  array,  shaved,  and  made  many 
reverences  to  the  porter  and  the  numerous  lackeys 
previous  to  an  introduction  to  the  master,  who 
was  much  more  polite  than  the  valets. 

"Well,  Thomas,"  said  he,  fTiow  can  I  recom- 

141 


142  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

pense  what  you  have  done  for  me?  Without  your 
assistance  I  should  have  perished;  and  as  my  life 
is  a  very  happy  one,  I  value  it  accordingly." 

Poor  Thomas  was  at  a  loss  how  to  reply;  he 
stammered  out,  "My  lord — your  grace/'  but  could 
get  no  further. 

The  master,  in  order  to  relieve  the  poor  man, 
interrupted  him  thus:  "I  understand  better  than 
yourself,  perhaps,  what  would  suit  you;  I  would  not 
wish  to  draw  you  from  your  native  condition,  for  I 
believe  that  none  is  more  truly  happy;  but  I  present 
to  you  and  your  children,  in  perpetuity,  the  cottage 
which  you  inhabit  in  the  forest.  You  and  they  shall 
have  the  power  of  cutting  as  much  wood  every  year 
as  you  can  use;  you  shall  work  for  yourself;  and  if 
your  sons  like  to  hunt,  all  the  game  which  they  kill 
shall  be  for  their  own  use.  I  only  exact  that  you 
sell  nothing,  and  that  while  possessing  every  com- 
fort, you  seek  not  to  quit  your  peaceful  obscurity." 

Thomas  was  so  astonished  that  he  could  find 
no  words  to  express  his  gratitude.  He  came  home 
to  his  wife,  who  heartily  shared  his  joy.  The  sons 
immediately  set  off  for  a  large  supply  of  fagots, 
and  made  a  great  fire;  but  when  they  had  been 
thoroughly  warmed,  Mother  Thomas  began  to  say 
what  a  pity  it  was  they  could  make  no  use  of  all 
the  wood  which  was  not  burned. 


HE  CAME  HOME   TO  HIS  WIFE 


144  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

"An  idea  has  just  struck  me,"  replied  the  hus- 
band. "Our  master  gives  us  all  we  can  use;  these 
are  his  own  words — very  well;  I  shall  be  able  to 
use  enough  to  bring  us  in  a  pretty  little  income !" 

"How?"  said  his  wife. 

"When  I  was  a  boy,"  rejoined  the  woodcutter, 
"my  father  taught  me  to  make  wooden  shoes  and 
I  made  them  so  light  and  so  neat  that  they  were 
everywhere  sought  for.  What  need  now  prevent 
me  from  exercising  this  trade?  James  shall  cut 
wood  in  the  forest,  Peter  shall  kill  game  for  dinner, 
and  Paul  shall  go  to  sell  my  merchandise  at  the 
neighboring  town. 

The  boys,  who  were  present,  highly  relished 
this  idea.  Mother  Thomas,  who  was  rather  in- 
clined to  gluttony,  made  the  most  of  the  game 
which  Peter  provided.  A  little  labor,  good  cheer, 
and  blazing  fire,  a  perfect  family  concord,  rendered 
this  family  the  happiest  in  the  world.  The  master 
came  to  the  cottage,  and  seeing  them  so  united 
and  industrious,  encouraged  the  trade  of  the 
wooden  shoes,  which  increased  their  comforts  with- 
out exposing  them  to  the  vices  attendant  on  avarice 
and  luxury. 

But  happiness  as  this  seldom  remains  perma- 
nent.   A  flock  of  furious  wolves  appeared  in  the 


THE    WOODCUTTER'S    DAUGHTER        145 

forest;  every  day  they  devoured  either  helpless 
children  or  travelers. 

Mother  Thomas  would  no  longer  suffer  her 
boys  to  leave  home;  and  when  they  did  go  in  spite 
of  her,  she  remained  watching  at  the  door,  refus- 
ing either  to  eat  or  drink  until  they  returned. 

Such  a  situation  was  deplorable;  when  at 
length  the  young  men,  who  were  very  brave,  re- 
solved to  deliver  themselves  and  their  master.  Tak- 
ing arms,  in  case  they  should  be  attacked,  they 
went  into  the  forest  and  dug  deep  pits,  covering 
them  with  a  little  earth,  laid  over  some  branches 
of  trees;  and  during  this  heavy  labor,  which  lasted 
several  days,  they  lighted  great  fires  around  them, 
in  order  to  hinder  the  wolves  from  approaching. 

Success  crowned  their  enterprise,  for  in  re- 
turning to  the  spot  at  sunrise,  they  perceived  that 
one  of  the  pits  had  been  broken  into  during  the 
night,  and  that  it  was  now  quite  uncovered.  They 
charged  their  muskets,  and  each  was  disputing 
the  honor  of  first  firing,  when  they  heard  issue 
from  the  depths  below  a  mild  and  supplicating 
voice  imploring  assistance. 

"What  shall  we  do?"  said  Peter;  "assuredly 
that  is  not  the  roaring  of  a  wolf;  it  is,  perhaps, 


146  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

some  unfortunate  little  wandering  child.    How 
lucky  that  we  did  not  draw  the  trigger!" 

They  approached  and  distinguished  a  beauti- 
ful lady  richly  dressed,  wearing  on  her  head  a  clus- 
ter of  diamonds,  which  shone  like  a  star.  She  ap- 
peared very  young,  and  was  trembling  with  cold. 
Much  rain  had  fallen  during  the  night,  and  her 
robe  of  silver  gauze  was  dabbled  in  mud  and 
water;  her  fair  and  tender  hands  were  all  dirty, 
which  seemed  to  vex  her  even  more  than  the  dan- 
gers she  had  experienced.  She  continued,  however, 
her  attempts  to  free  herself  from  the  trap,  when 
three  enormous  wolves  appeared  at  a  distance. 
The  brothers  looked  at  each  other  expressively, 
like  people  who  feel  that  all  is  lost,  but  who  resolve 
to  do  their  duty.  They  had  a  cord  about  them, 
which  Peter  fastened  round  his  body,  and  let  him- 
self down  into  the  pit.  He  took  the  beautiful  lady 
on  his  shoulders,  while  his  brothers  assisted  in 
drawing  them  up.  They  then  stretched  her  on  the 
grass,  for  she  had  fainted;  and  now  the  wolves  had 
just  reached  them—when,  lo!  these  beasts  of  prey 
were  instantly  turned  into  three  little  lambs,  and 
licked  the  feet  of  the  lady,  who  slowly  returned 
to  life. 

"My  poor  lads!"  said  she  to  the  woodcutters, 
"fear  nothing.   From  henceforth  no  more  danger- 


THE    WOODCUTTERS    DAUGHTER        147 

ous  animals  than  these  shall  trouble  you.  But  I 
owe  you  a  still  greater  recompense;  lead  me  to  your 
father;  I  wish  to  felicitate  him  on  the  generosity 
and  bravery  of  his  sons." 

The  poor  youths  were  so  astonished  by  this  ad- 
venture that  they  felt  unable  to  reply;  but  they 
respectfully  lifted  her  long  train  from  the  ground, 
it  having  now  recovered  all  its  splendor. 

The  three  lambs  followed,  skipping  and  frol- 
icking before  them — they  seemed  to  know  the  way; 
and  Mother  Thomas,  who  sat  at  the  door  looking 
out  for  her  children,  was  not  a  little  surprised  to 
behold  their  companion. 

She  had,  however,  presence  of  mind  to  invite 
her  noble  guest  to  enter  and  rest;  much  ashamed 
of  having  nothing  better  to  offer  than  a  straw 
chair,  and  some  spring  water,  which  was  in  a  very 
clean  pitcher  on  the  dresser. 

"I  shall  willingly  rest  an  hour  with  you/'  said 
the  lady.  "Although  you  now  see  me  for  the  first 
time,  I  am  one  of  your  best  friends,  of  which  I  shall 
give  you  a  proof.  I  accept  a  glass  of  water,  on 
condition  that  your  husband  and  children  will  also 
pledge  me." 

A  glance  of  Mother  Thomas'  eye  directed  her 
family;  they  each  sought  their  ordinary  drinking- 


148  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

cup,  which  was  of  wood,  and  then  bent  the  neck 
of  the  pitcher;  but  what  was  their  astonishment 
to  perceive  the  vessel  turn  into  wrought-silver  in 
their  hands,  and  to  taste,  instead  of  water,  a  liquor 
so  delicious  that  when  the  woodcutter  and  his  wife 
had  drunk,  they  felt  themselves  ten  years  younger 
than  before! 

They  threw  themselves  at  the  feet  of  the  beau- 
tiful lady  in  terror;  for  a  natural  instinct  made 
them  feel  that  great  power  is  always  more  or  less 
to  be  dreaded,  even  when  employed  in  acts  of  be- 
neficence. The  lady  meanwhile  kindly  raised  them 
and  having  spoken  of  the  courage  and  generosity 
of  their  sons,  who  exposed  themselves  to  the  fury 
of  wolves  rather  than  take  flight  and  abandon  her, 
she  said  that  her  name  was  the  fairy  Coquette,  and 
that  she  would  willingly  relate  her  history. 

"Previously,  madam/'  said  the  woodcutter, 
"will  you  have  the  goodness  to  tell  me  what  is  a 
fairy?  During  thirty  years  that  I  have  inhabited 
this  forest,  I  have  heard  of  the  devil,  of  the  were- 
wolf, of  the  monster  of  Gevaudan,  but  never  have 
I  heard  of  fairies." 

"We  exist,  notwithstanding,"  replied  Co- 
quette, "but  not  in  all  ages  nor  in  all  countries.  We 
are  supernatural  beings,  to  whom  has  been  impart- 
ed a  portion  of  supernatural  power,  which  we  make 


THE    WOODCUTTER'S    DAUGHTER        149 

use  of  for  good  or  evil,  according  to  our  natural 
disposition;  in  that  alone  consists  our  resemblance 
to  men." 

The  woodcutter,  who  was  very  simple,  under- 
stood little  of  this  explanation;  but,  like  many  oth- 
ers, had  a  profound  respect  for  what  he  could  not 
comprehend.  He  bowed  down  to  the  ground,  and 
only  requested  the  fairy  to  inform  him  why  a  su- 
pernatural being  so  highly  gifted  could  have  fallen 
into  a  pit  prepared  for  wolves. 

"It  is,"  replied  Coquette,  "because  I  have  an 
enemy  still  more  powerful  than  myself,  the  en- 
chanter Barabapatapouf ,  the  most  wicked  ogre  in 
the  world;  he  has  but  three  teeth,  three  hairs,  one 
eye,  and  is  fifteen  feet  high.  With  all  these  charms 
he  happened  to  fall  in  love  with  me,  and  merely 
for  mischief  I  affected  to  accept  him.  He  then  in- 
vited his  friends  to  the  nuptials;  when,  to  his  great 
mortification,  I  took  them  to  witness  that  I  would 
never  be  the  wife  of  such  a  monster.  Barabapata- 
pouf was  deeply  incensed,  swore  to  be  revenged, 
and  has  never  lost  an  opportunity  of  keeping  his 
word.  I  should  have  remained  three  days  in  that 
horrible  pit  but  for  the  generosity  of  your  chil- 
dren." 

"They  have  done  nothing  more  than  their 
duty,"  replied  the  woodcutter. 


150  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

"I  must  also  do  mine,"  said  Coquette,  "but  my 
power  is  limited.  I  can  satisfy  but  two  wishes,  and 
it  is  necessary  that  each  of  you  should  choose  free- 
ly, unbiased  by  the  other.  You  must  separate  ac- 
cordingly, and  tomorrow,  at  early  dawn,  come  to 
inform  me  what  you  have  all  resolved  on  during 
the  night." 

Mother  Thomas  was  very  uneasy  in  thinking 
how  she  could  accommodate  the  fairy,  for  neither 
her  children's  beds  nor  her  own  were  worthy  of  of- 
fering to  such  a  grand  lady;  but  Coquette  desired 
her  to  feel  at  ease,  as  she  would  provide  everything 
needful.  She  then  drew  forth  some  grains  of  sand, 
which  she  scattered  on  the  floor.  Instantly  there 
arose  on  the  spot  a  bed  of  rose-leaves  three  feet 
high;  the  bolster  was  of  violets,  heartsease,  and 
orange  flowers,  all  breathing  delicious  perfumes. 

Coquette  warned  Mother  Thomas  that  if  she 
should  speak  once  to  her  husband  before  she  again 
saw  her,  the  wishes  could  not  be  realized.  The 
strictest  injunctions  were  indeed  necessary  to  pre- 
vent their  communicating  on  a  subject  which  inter- 
ested both  so  deeply.  When  day  appeared,  Co- 
quette summoned  them  to  her  presence. 

The  woodcutter  first  came,  and  said,  with  his 
usual  simplicity,  that  he  never  could  have  believed 
it  so  difficult  to  form  a  wish.    Till  that  moment  he 


THE    WOODCUTTER'S    DAUGHTER        151 

had  considered  himself  happy,  but  now  finding  it 
possible  to  obtain  one  thing,  he  desired  a  thousand. 
Wearied  with  the  fatigue  of  thought,  he  had  fallen 
asleep  without  coming  to  a  determination;  but  see- 
ing in  his  dreams  five  purses  filled  with  gold,  it 
seemed  as  if  one  were  for  him,  one  for  his  wife,  and 
one  for  each  of  his  children. 

"Well,"  said  Coquette,  "these  purses  are  ap- 
parently your  desire;  go  then  to  the  bin  where  you 
deposit  your  bread  and  you  will  find  them.  Only 
say  how  many  pounds  you  wish  them  to  contain." 

"Of,  if  there  were  but  a  hundred  pounds  in 
each,"  replied  Thomas,  "that  would  be  sufficient  to 
extend  our  little  commerce,  and  send  our  wooden 
shoes  to  China  itself." 

"Your  wish  is  accomplished,"  said  the  fairy; 
"go  away,  and  permit  your  wife  to  come  in  her 
turn." 

The  good  dame  had  also  passed  a  sleepless 
night,  and  had  never  before  been  so  much  agitat- 
ed or  so  unhappy.  At  last  she  suddenly  said:  "Ma- 
dam fairy,  I  am  very  old,  and  what  I  desire  most  is 
a  daughter  to  assist  me  in  household  management 
and  to  keep  me  company;  my  husband  almost  lives 
in  the  woods  and  leaves  me  at  break  of  day;  my 
sons  also  go  about  their  business;  we  are  without 
neighbors,  and  I  have  nobody  to  speak  to." 


152  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

"Be  it  so,"  said  the  fairy;  "you  shall  have  the 
prettiest  daughter  imaginable,  and  she  shall  speak 
from  her  birth,  in  order  that  no  time  may  be  lost. 
Call  your  husband  and  sons;  I  hope  to  find  all  part- 
ies content/' 

The  little  family  assembled,  but  harmony  was 
not  the  result  of  their  communications.  The  young 
men  thought  their  father's  wish  quite  pitiful,  and 
the  woodcutter  by  no  means  relished  the  idea  of  an- 
other child.  The  fairy,  however,  provided  an  ex- 
cellent breakfast,  and  the  wine  reanimated  his 
spirits. 

Now  I  promise,"  said  Coquette,  "that  you  shall 
have  a  daughter,  who  at  the  moment  of  her  birth 
will  be  endowed  with  the  figure  and  the  intelligence 
of  twelve  years  old.  Call  her  Rose,  for  her  com- 
plexion shall  shame  the  flower  which  bears  that 
name." 

"And  I  pronounce  that  she  shall  also  be  as 
black  as  ebony,  and  become,  before  the  age  of  fif- 
teen, the  wife  of  a  great  king,"  said  a  very  strong 
voice  in  clear  and  distinct  accents,  accompanied  by 
shouts  of  laughter,  which  evidently  proceeded 
from  a  great  pitcher  placed  at  the  corner  of  the 
chimney. 

The  fairy  Coquette  turned  pale,  and  conster- 


THE    WOODCUTTER'S    DAUGHTER        153 

nation  was  general;  but  the  woodcutter,  now  merry 
with  wine,  joined  in  the  laugh.  "Ah!  how  droll," 
said  he;  "red  and  black  roses!  A  likely  story,  in- 
deed, that  a  great  king  would  come  a-wooing  to  a 
woodcutter's  daughter.  Only  a  pitcher  could  in- 
vent such  nonsense,  and  I  shall  teach  it  to  utter 
no  more." 

Thus  saying,  he  gave  the  pitcher  a  great  kick 
and  broke  it  in  pieces,  when  there  issued  from  it  a 
smoke  thick  and  black,  and  so  stifling  that  Co- 
quette was  obliged  to  use  two  bottles  of  essence 
to  dissipate  its  noxious  effects. 

"Ah,  cruel  Barabapatapouf !"  cried  she,  "must 
your  malignity  then  extend  even  to  those  whom  I 
wish  to  benefit?  I  indeed  recognize  my  enemy," 
said  she  to  the  woodcutter;  "beware  of  him,  and  be- 
lieve that  it  is  with  no  good  intention  he  destines 
your  daughter  for  the  bride  of  a  king.  Some  mys- 
tery is  here  concealed,  foreboding  evil." 

Every  one  was  rendered  quite  melancholy  by 
this  adventure,  and  Coquette,  beginning  to  weary 
of  these  poor  foresters,  opened  the  window  and 
disappeared. 

A  great  quarrel  then  arose  between  the  wood- 
cutter and  his  sons,  who,  forgetting  that  respect  in 
which  they  had  never  before  failed,  reproached 


154  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

him  for  losing  an  opportunity  of  rendering  them 
all  happy.  "We  might,"  said  they,  "have  purchased 
estates,  finery  of  all  kinds,  and  been  as  rich  and 
noble  as  many  who  now  despise  us.  One  or  two 
millions  would  have  been  as  easy  said  as  five  hun- 
dred pounds;  that  sum  would  obtain  a  marquisate 
for  our  father,  and  baronies  for  each  of  us.  What 
extraordinary  stupidity  our  parents  have  shown!" 

"My  children,"  said  the  woodcutter,  "are  these 
things,  then,  necessary  for  happiness?  It  appeared 
to  me  that  you  were  well  satisfied  when  our  master 
only  made  our  poverty  a  little  less  oppressive;  and 
now,  while  you  have  more  gold  than  you  ever  saw 
in  your  lives,  one  would  suppose  that  you  had  been 
deeply  injured,  and  could  never  know  contentment 
more." 

As  for  Mother  Thomas,  she  was  wiser,  and  so 
well  pleased  with  the  idea  of  her  daughter  that  her 
imagination  roamed  no  further.  In  course  of  time 
she  gave  birth  to  an  infant;  but  scarcely  had  it  seen 
the  light  than  it  glided  from  her  arms,  and  started 
up  to  the  stature  of  a  well-formed  girl  of  twelve  or 
thirteen  years  old,  who  made  a  low  courtesy  to  the 
woodcutter,  kissed  the  hand  of  her  mother,  and  of- 
fered her  brothers  a  cordial  embrace.  But  these 
lads  ill-naturedly  repulsed  the  young  stranger; 


THE    WOODCUTTER'S    DAUGHTER        155 

they  felt  jealous,  fearing  that  she  would  now  be 
preferred  to  them. 

Rose,  one  might  say,  was  born  dressed,  for 
flowing  ringlets  fell  around  her  shoulders,  forming 
a  complete  covering;  and  with  her  increase  of  size 
appeared  a  little  smart  petticoat  and  brown  bodice 
in  peasant  fashion.  Her  delicate  feet  were  clad  in 
wooden  shoes,  but  both  the  feet  and  the  shoes  were 
so  shapely  that  any  lady  in  the  land  might  have 
been  proud  to  exhibit  them.  Her  little  plump  hand 
was  so  white  that  it  hardly  appeared  formed  for 
rustic  labors,  yet  she  immediately  prepared  to  as- 
sist in  household  matters,  and  the  poor  old  dame 
was  never  weary  of  caressing  such  a  charming 
child. 

A  bed  was  prepared  for  Rose  beside  her  mother. 
This  good  girl  arose  at  dawn  to  prepare  the  young 
men's  breakfast;  for  she  had  an  excellent  natural 
disposition,  and  so  much  intelligence  that  she 
seemed  to  know  by  instinct  that  her  birth  was  dis- 
pleasing to  them,  and  sought  to  gain  their  regard 
by  good-natured  attentions. 

Mother  Thomas  soon  rose  likewise,  and  re- 
turned to  the  kitchen.  But  what  was  her  horror 
on  beholding  her  daughter's  face  black  as  ebony, 
her  hair  woolly  and  crisped  like  a  negro's!  As 
there  was  no  mirror  in  the  cottage,  Rose  could  not 


156  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

understand  what  had  so  alarmed  her  mother;  she 
asked  if  she  had  involuntarily  had  the  misfortune 
to  give  offense. 

"No,  no/'  said  the  old  dame,  weeping;  "shouldst 
thou  remain  all  thy  life  as  black  as  ink,  I  shall  not 
love  thee  less;  but  I  cannot  without  pain  recall  thy 
beauties  of  yesterday.  Thou  wilt  be  laughed  at; 
and  us  too.  Still,  we  will  keep  thee — thou  must 
never  leave  us." 

Rose  readily  promised  she  never  would.  But 
when  her  brothers  returned,  they  considered  the 
change  in  her  quite  as  a  matter  of  course.  They 
recollected  the  prediction  of  the  pitcher,  and 
seemed  quite  delighted  to  think  that,  since  it  was 
fulfilled  in  the  first  instance,  they  might  yet  be- 
come the  brothers  of  a  queen. 

Meanwhile  they  lived  on  better  terms  with 
Rose,  hoping  that  one  day  she  might  be  of  service 
to  them. 

But,  strange  to  say,  Rose  was  not  always 
black;  every  second  day  she  recovered  her  natural 
beauty,  from  whence  it  might  be  concluded  that 
the  influence  of  the  fairy  and  the  enchanter  Bara- 
patapouf  operated  alternately.  The  woodcutter's 
family  grew  gradually  accustomed  to  these  suc- 
cessions; and  as  habit  reconciles  people  to  all 
things,  each  color  became  indifferent  to  them. 


THE    WOODCUTTER'S    DAUGHTER        157 

Thomas  was  too  old  to  change  his  mode  of 
life;  he  would  not  hear  of  going  to  live  in  town, 
although  they  had  money  sufficient  for  that  pur- 
pose; he  also  still  continued  the  making  of  wooden 
shoes.  Those  which  Rose  wore  in  winter  were 
trimmed  with  lamb's-wool,  which  she  wrought 
very  dexterously;  she  was  clever  and  ingenious, 
but,  it  must  be  confessed,  a  little  imperious. 

A  year  passed.  Rose  grew  tall,  and  her  broth- 
ers, weary  of  waiting  for  an  event  so  uncertain 
as  her  marriage  with  a  king,  executed  a  crime 
which  they  had  long  meditated.  Seeing  that  their 
father  had  touched  but  one  of  the  purses,  they  easi- 
ly obtained  possession  of  the  rest,  and  rising  with 
the  dawn,  all  three  departed. 

The  woodcutter  and  his  wife  did  not  at  first 
comprehend  the  extent  of  their  misfortune.  They 
thought  their  children  must  have  gone  astray  in 
the  forest,  and  the  old  man  wandered  everywhere 
in  search  of  them.  But  when  he  observed  the  loss 
of  the  purses,  the  truth  was  revealed,  and  he  felt 
ready  to  die  with  grief.  "Cursed  gold!"  cried  he, 
"thou  hast  corrupted  my  brave  and  honest  boys; 
they  were  poor,  but  virtuous;  they  are  now  become 
villains,  and  will  meet  punishment  from  either 
man  or  God!" 


158  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

Thus  saying  he  took  the  remaining  purse 
and  flung  it  into  the  bottom  of  a  well.  Mother 
Thomas  was  vexed,  but  dared  not  speak,  for  the 
unfortunate  man  was  so  much  irritated  and 
troubled  that  he  would  have  beaten  her. 

When  his  reason  cleared  a  little,  however,  he 
felt  that  he  had  committed  an  error  in  parting 
with  his  money,  they  being  both  old  and  unable 
to  work  as  formerly. 

The  dame  sold  some  articles  which  had  been 
purchased  during  their  prosperity.  But  poverty 
was  nothing,  it  was  the  conduct  of  their  sons  which 
inflicted  the  bitter  sting. 

How  was  this  then  augmented,  when  some  of- 
ficers of  justice  arrived  and  announced  that  James, 
Peter,  and  Paul  had  been  arrested.  It  seemed  that 
while  drinking  together  in  a  public  house,  they  had 
spread  on  a  table  all  their  gold.  The  host  sur- 
prised them,  and  not  believing  that  young  pea- 
sants, so  coarsely  clothed  and  wearing  wooden 
shoes,  could  lawfully  be  in  possession  of  such  a 
sum,  he  had  given  them  in  charge.  The  poor  boys, 
quite  terrified,  related  the  story  of  the  fairy  Co- 
quette; but  as  the  magistrate  had  never  seen  a 
fairy,  he  did  not  believe  one  word  of  the  matter. 

Meantime  they  arrested  the  woodcutter  for 


THE  WOODCUTTER'S  DAUGHTER         159 

the  purpose  of  identifying  his  children.  Pale,  and 
trembling  like  criminals,  the  old  couple  followed 
the  guards.  Mother  Thomas  was  ready  to  faint, 
and  doubly  grieved  for  leaving  poor  Rose  all  alone, 
especially  as  this  was  her  day  for  being  white  and 
beautiful.  She  begged  her  not  to  leave  the  house, 
but  to  live  on  the  milk  of  her  sheep,  and  to  bake 
cakes  of  some  meal  which  was  in  the  bin.  Their 
adieus  were  heart-rending;  although  the  soldiers 
declared  that  in  three  days  the  forester  should  be 
at  liberty  to  return,  provided  the  innocence  of  his 
family  was  established.  Rose  believed  them,  and 
endeavored  to  take  courage.  But  a  month  and 
more  passed,  and  no  tidings  came  of  her  parents. 
She  could  not  then  prevent  herself  from  wandering 
a  little  on  the  highway. 

One  evening,  being  more  worn  out  than  usual, 
she  seated  herself  at  the  foot  of  a  tree  and  fell 
asleep.  A  slight  noise  awoke  her,  and  on  looking 
up,  she  perceived  a  young  gentleman  richly 
dressed,  who  was  contemplating  her  with  evident 
astonishment.  "Art  thou  a  goddess,  or  a  simple 
mortal?"  cried  he. 

"Sir,"  replied  Rose,  "I  am  the  daughter  of  a 
poor  woodcutter,  who  lives  in  the  forest;  it  is  late, 
and  I  beg  you  will  not  detain  me." 


160  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

"You  are  a  wayward  beauty,  indeed!"  replied 
the  prince,  for  so  he  was;  "but  as  my  way  lies  in 
that  direction,  I  hope  you  will  permit  me  to  see  you 
home." 

"It  is  not  in  my  power  to  prevent  you,"  said 
Rose,  without  raising-  her  eyes. 


The  Woodcutter's  'Daughter- 

<PART  II 

The  prince  at  this  moment  remarked  that  she 
had  been  weeping,  and  delighted  to  have  an  op- 
portunity of  offering  sympathy  and  consolation, 
entreated  her  to  impart  her  grief  to  him.  "I  am 
not  actuated  by  mere  curiosity,"  added  he;  "I  never 
can  behold  a  woman  in  tears  without  feeling  moved 
to  the  bottom  of  my  soul!  Tell  me  your  distress, 
and  I  will  neither  sleep  nor  eat  till  I  have  aided 
you."  Rose  timidly  raised  her  lovely  blue  eyes,  to 
see  whether  the  countenance  of  the  prince  har- 
monized with  his  discourse;  but  although  he  was 
not  actually  ugly,  his  feathers  wore  an  expression 
too  stern  and  hypocritical  to  invite  her  confidence. 
She  therefore  walked  silently  forward,  and  when 
near  the  cottage  felt  so  uneasy  that  for  the  first 
time  she  invented  a  lie  in  order  to  get  rid  of  him. 
"You  seem  to  compassionate  my  sorrows,"  said 
she;  "meanwhile  you  only  increase  them.  When 
my  mothers  sees  me  accompanied  by  a  great  gen- 
tleman like  you,  she  will  beat  me,  and  not  believe 
that  you  have  followed  me  against  my  will." 


162  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

This  reasoning  appeared  so  just  to  the  prince, 
who  felt  himself  affected  by  a  passion  such  as  he 
had  never  before  experienced,  that  he  consented 
to  retire,  entreating  Rose  to  meet  him  the  next 
evening  at  the  same  hour.  She  refused  to  give  a 
decisive  answer  and  returned  home  much  deject- 
ed, recalling  all  the  words  of  the  stranger,  and  al- 
most reproaching  herself  for  having  behaved  so 
harshly  to  him. 

The  following  day  Rose  took  mechanically  the 
same  route,  going  always  in  the  path  by  which 
her  parents  might  be  expected.  Her  provisions 
being  nearly  exhausted  she  feared  to  die  of  hun- 
ger, and  began  to  think  that  this  gentleman,  who 
had  been  repulsed  so  rudely,  could,  perhaps,  obtain 
news  of  her  family.  Suddenly  beholding  him  lean- 
ing against  a  tree,  looking  very  melancholy  and 
dejected,  she  threw  herself  at  his  feet,  bathed  in 
tears,  and  said: 

"Sir,  a  wretch  who  has  lost  everything*  dear 
supplicates  your  compassion.  You  are  so  kind — 
so  tender-hearted — " 

"What  does  the  vile  creature  want?"  exclaimed 
the  prince,  with  a  savage  expression.  "How  dare 
you  have  the  impertinence  to  address  me?  I  won- 
der what  prevents  me  from  shooting  you.    I  lost 


THE    WOODCUTTER'S    DAUGHTER        163 

my  sport  all  yesterday  in  following-  a  pretty  girl; 
here  is  game  of  a  new  description." 

Rose  started  up,  overwhelmed  with  terror, 
while  the  prince  laughed  most  brutally.  It  was  not 
till  that  moment  she  recollected  that  this  was  her 
black  day,  which  accounted  for  his  not  recognizing 
her.  "Ah!"  thought  she,  "this  is  the  humane  man 
who  could  not  behold  a  woman  weep;  because  my 
color  displeases  him,  he  is  ready  to  take  my  life. 
No  hope  now  remains  for  me — my  misfortunes  are 
at  their  height!" 

Rose  wept  all  night;  yet  she  could  not  prevent 
herself  from  returning  to  the  same  spot  on  the 
following  day;  she  felt  irresistibly  led  thither, 
dreading,  and  yet  wishing  to  meet  the  prince. 

He  had  been  already  waiting  above  an  hour, 
and  accosted  her  with  a  degree  of  respect  quite 
unusual  for  him;  but  he  was  in  love,  and  love  makes 
the  worst  of  people  better  for  the  time. 

"Cruel  beauty!"  said  he,  in  a  courtier-like 
style,  to  which  Rose  was  little  accustomed,  "what 
have  I  not  suffered  during  your  absence!  I  even 
remained  all  night  in  the  wood,  in  expectation  of 
you,  and  the  queen,  my  mother,  dispatched  mes- 
sengers everywhere,  fearing  some  accident  had 
befallen  me." 


164  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

"The  queen,  your  mother!"  exclaimed  Rose. 
"Are  you  then  the  son  of  a  queen?" 

"I  have  betrayed  myself!"  said  the  prince, 
striking-  his  forehead  in  a  theatrical  manner.  "Yes, 
it  is  true,  I  have  that  misfortune.  You  will  now 
fear  me;  and  what  we  fear,  we  never  love." 

"The  wicked  alone  are  to  be  feared,"  an- 
swered Rose.  "I  am  very  glad  to  hear  that  you 
are  a  king,  for  I  know  that  you  will  be  my  hus- 
band." 

The  prince,  who  little  guessed  the  enchanter's 
communication,  was  confounded  by  the  unem- 
barrassed freedom  of  her  manner;  but  it  was  far 
from  displeasing  to  him.  "You  are  ambitious," 
said  he,  smiling;  "but  there  is  nothing  to  which 
beauty  may  not  pretend.  Tell  me  only  how  I  can 
have  the  happiness  of  serving  you,  and  you  shall 
see  that  everything  is  possible  to  love." 

Rose  sat  down  on  the  grass  and  related  in 
very  simple  terms  the  story  of  the  purse;  confessed 
that  she  had  deceived  him,  and  that,  so  far  from 
being  severely  treated  at  home,  sho  was  now  weep- 
ing her  mother's  loss;  that  the  king  must  take 
measures  for  the  discovery  and  liberation  of  her 
family,  before  he  could  hope  to  win  her  affections 
or  pretend  to  her  hand. 


THE    WOODCUTTER'S    DAUGHTER        165 

The  enamored  monarch  vowed  he  would  not 
lose  a  moment;  and  although  she  behaved  with 
much  dignity,  her  every  word  and  look  was  adora- 
ble in  his  eyes.  Rose  thought  all  night  of  the  fine 
fortune  of  being  a  queen;  she  would  then  no  longer 
wear  wooden  shoes;  and,  above  all,  might  have  an 
opportunity  of  being  useful  to  her  dear  parents. 

These  meetings  continued  every  alternate 
day  during  a  week;  and  the  queen  dowager  was  in- 
formed that  her  son  neglected  all  business,  and 
thought  of  nothing  but  making  love.  She  was  in 
despair.  The  prince  was  surnamed  the  Terrible, 
by  reason  of  his  ferocity  to  women;  till  that  mo- 
ment he  had  never  loved,  but  he  had  frequently 
made  pretense  of  it,  and  when  successful,  it  was 
not  unusual  with  him  to  cut  out  the  poor  ladies' 
tongues,  put  out  their  eyes,  or  even  throw  them 
into  the  sea.  The  least  pretext  sufficed  for  this; 
and  the  queen,  who  was  of  a  kind  disposition,  la- 
mented that  yet  another  victim  was  preparing. 
The  courtiers  begged  her  to  be  tranquil;  said  it 
was  nothing  more  than  the  daughter  of  a  poor 
woodcutter  whom  his  majesty  now  admired,  and 
that  if  he  did  kill  her,  it  would  be  of  little  conse- 
quence. 

But  the  courtiers,  and  the  queen  dowager  her- 
self, were  altogether  bewildered  when  the  king, 


166  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

having  liberated  the  woodcutter  and  his  family, 
brought  Rose  to  the  palace  as  his  wife.  She  was 
not  at  all  abashed  or  out  of  countenance;  she  be- 
haved with  the  utmost  respect  to  the  queen,  and 
with  affability  to  all. 

A  grand  ball  was  given  in  the  evening.  Rose 
danced  well  enough  for  a  queen;  and  she  yielded 
herself  up  entirely  to  the  enchantment  of  such  a 
happy  day.  The  prince,  ever  eager  to  be  near  her, 
was  figuring  away  in  a  quadrille,  when  twelve 
o'clock  struck;  great,  then,  was  his  astonishment, 
while  gazing  passionately  on  his  partner,  he  beheld 
— anegress! 

"What  metamorphosis  is  this?"  cried  he,  rude- 
ly seizing  her  arm;  "where  is  the  princess  I  married 
today?" 

Rose  bent  her  head  in  confusion;  it  still  bore 
her  diamonds  and  her  crown — no  doubt  could  exist 
of  her  identity. 

"Wretched,  hideous  black,  thou  shalt  surely 
die!"  cried  the  king;  "none  shall  deceive  me  with 
impunity."  He  then  drew  a  poniard  and  was  pre- 
paring to  take  instant  vengeance,  when,  recollect- 
ing himself — "I  do  thee  too  much  honor,"  said  he; 
"rather  let  my  cooks  cut  thee  in  pieces  to  make  a 
hash  for  my  hounds." 


THE    WOODCUTTER'S    DAUGHTER        167 

The  old  queen,  as  humane  as  her  son  was  cruel, 
knew  there  was  but  one  means  of  saving  the  un- 
fortunate victim;  this  was  to  appear  still  more  en- 
raged than  the  king. 

"I  truly  feel  this  injury/'  said  she;  "sometimes 
you  have  reproached  my  weakness,  but  now  be- 
hold a  proof  that  I  also  can  avenge.  Your  orders 
must  be  strictly  fulfilled — I  myself  shall  witness 
the  execution."  She  then  signed  to  the  guards  to 
lay  hold  of  the  unfortunate  Rose,  who  was  dragged 
away  by  an  iron  chain  fastened  round  her  neck. 
She  gave  herself  up  for  lost,  and  uttering  the  most 
heart-rending  cries,  was  led  away  to  a  pigeon- 
house  at  the  end  of  the  palace,  furnished  with  some 
clean  straw;  here,  however,  the  queen  promised  to 
come  on  the  following  day. 

Her  majesty  kept  her  word.  Much  affected  by 
the  sweetness  of  the  hapless  bride,  she  promised 
to  mitigate,  as  far  as  possible,  her  malancholy  situ- 
ation. 

Rose,  very  grateful,  supplicated  her  benefact- 
ress to  inform  the  woodcutter's  family  that  she  was 
still  alive.  The  queen  promised  to  employ  a  confi- 
dential domestic;  and  Rose,  who  had  still  preserved 
her  wooden  shoes,  sent  one,  that  her  father  might 
recognize  his  handiwork. 


168  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

A  few  days  afterward  a  young  peasant  arrived 
from  the  cottage;  he  brought  some  cakes  and 
cheese,  made  by  Mother  Thomas,  which  Rose  pre- 
ferred to  all  the  delicacies  of  the  palace. 

This  young  peasant,  who  was  named  Mirto,  re- 
lated to  Rose  everything  concerning  her  dear  par- 
ents, and  took  back  very  loving  messages  from  her 
to  them. 

Mirto  found  so  much  pleasure  in  conversing 
with  the  fair  prisoner,  and  so  often  had  cakes  to 
carry,  that  they  were  seldom  apart.  He  said  he 
was  an  orphan,  and  having  some  work  to  do  in  the 
prison  where  Thomas  had  been  confined,  there 
formed  a  friendship  with  the  family.  In  return  for 
some  little  services  then  rendered  them,  he  desired 
to  learn  the  trade  of  the  wooden  shoes;  being  very 
ingenious,  he  became  a  valuable  acquisition.  He 
never  had  felt  so  happy  before.  In  truth,  he  was 
not  aware  that  this  happiness  received  its  date 
from  the  hour  in  which  he  first  saw  Rose. 

Alas!  poor  Rose  was  only  too  sensible  of  his 
affection,  and  feeling  the  duty  of  struggling 
against  it,  found  herself  still  more  miserable  than 
before. 

"Whatever  may  be  the  conduct  of  Prince  Ter- 
rible," said  she  to  herself,  "I  have  married  him.    It 


THE  WOODCUTTER'S  DAUGHTER         169 

is  certainly  very  hard  to  love  a  husband  who 
wished  to  kill  me,  but  still  I  should  not  permit  my- 
self to  love  another." 

For  a  whole  month  following  she  had  sufficient 
resolution  to  see  Mirto  no  more,  and  was  becoming 
sick  with  chagrin  and  weariness. 

At  length,  one  day,  Rose  heard  a  great  noise 
in  the  palace.  People  kept  running  to  and  fro — 
all  the  bells  were  rung  and  all  the  cannons  fired. 
The  poor  prisoner  mounted  up  to  one  of  the  pigeon- 
holes, and  peeping  through,  perceived  the  palace 
hung  with  black.  She  knew  not  what  to  think.  But 
soon  one  of  the  queen's  officers  appeared,  and  con- 
ducted her  in  due  form  to  the  court.  Rose,  all 
trembling,  inquired  what  had  happened. 

"Your  majesty  is  a  widow,"  replied  the  officer; 
"the  king  has  been  killed  in  hunting;  here  are  your 
weeds,  of  which  the  queen  begs  your  acceptance." 

The  queen  was  a  tender  mother,  and  although 
fully  conscious  of  the  ferocious  disposition  of  her 
son,  she  deeply  lamented  him,  and  wept  bitterly  on 
embracing  her  daughter-in-iaw.  "Your  husband 
is  no  more,"  said  she;  "forget  his  errors,  my  dear 
child;  the  remainder  of  my  life  shall  be  devoted  to 
making  atonement  for  them." 

The  princess  threw  herself  at  her  benefac- 


170  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

tress'  feet,  and  declared  all  was  forgotten.  "If 
your  majesty  deigns  to  permit  me  to  speak  candid- 
ly," added  she,  "and  will  bestow  a  moment's  atten- 
tion, I  shall  confess  the  dearest  wish  of  my 
heart!" 

"Speak,"  said  the  queen;  "nothing  now  can  as- 
sauge  my  grief  save  an  opportunity  of  proving  to 
you  my  friendship." 

"I  was  not  born  for  a  queen,"  continued  Rose. 
"My  mother  is  a  poor  forester,  but  she  has  been  a 
tender  parent,  and  weeps  incessantly  for  my  ab- 
sence." 

"Let  her  be  conducted  hither,"  replied  the 
queen. 

"This  is  not  all,  madam,"  continued  Rose.  "I 
confess  that  I  love  a  young  peasant,  who  has  as- 
sisted my  father  to  make  wooden  shoes.  If  I  were 
the  wife  of  Mirto,  and  your  majesty  would  have 
the  goodness  to  give  some  assistance  to  my  fami- 
ly, my  old  father  might  be  freed  from  labor,  and 
I  the  happiest  woman  in  the  world." 

The  queen  embraced  Rose,  and  promised  all 
she  wished.  She  then  conducted  her  to  the  forest; 
and  just  as  they  had  reached  its  boundary,  they 
perceived  in  the  air  a  mahogany  car,  mounted  on 
wheels  of  mother-o'-pearl;  two  pretty  white  lambs 


THE  WOODCUTTERS  DAUGHTER         171 

were  yoked  to  it,  which  Rose  immediately  recog- 
nized as  those  of  the  fairy  Coquette. 

The  car  descended,  and  the  fairy,  alighting, 
thus  addressed  the  queen:  "Madam,  I  come  to  seek 
my  child,  and  am  delighted  to  find  you  willing  to 
part  with  her,  for  she  has  a  lover  of  whom  I  ap- 
prove; who  loves  her  faithfully,  though  hopelessly, 
which  is  a  thing  more  rare  than  all  the  treasures 
of  your  majesty's  crown." 

The  fairy  then  addressing  herself  to  Rose  re- 
lated that  her  enemy,  the  enchanter  Barabapata- 
pouf ,  had  just  been  killed  in  combat  with  another 
giant.  "Now,"  added  Coquette,  "I  have  full  power 
to  render  you  happy;"  and  passing  her  fair  hand 
over  Rose's  face,  the  negro  color  and  features  van- 
ished— to  reappear  no  more. 

The  queen,  convinced  that  her  daughter-in- 
law  required  nothing  further,  offered  only  her  por- 
trait as  a  token  of  esteem  and  friendship.  Rose 
received  it  with  grateful  respect,  then  ascended 
the  fairy's  car,  and  was  in  a  few  minutes  surround- 
ed by  the  foresters,  who  never  wearied  of  caressing 
her.  Poor  Mirto  drew  back,  trembling,  not  know- 
ing whether  to  hope  or  fear;  but  Coquette,  per- 
ceiving their  mutual  embarrassment,  declared 
that  she  had  ordained  this  marriage  from  the  very 
beginning.   She  blessed  them,  gave  them  a  flock  of 


172 


ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 


beautiful  white  sheep,  a  cottage  covered  with 
honey-suckles  and  roses,  a  lovely  garden  abound- 
ing with  fruits  and  flowers,  and  a  moderate  sum 
of  money;  endowing  them  also  with  life  for  a  hun- 
dred years,  uninterrupted  health,  and  constant 
love. 


'&&>* 


TKe  bluebird 


.«■» 


cI\\e  bluebird 


A  POWERFUL  and  wealthy  king,  having  lost  his 
wife,  was  so  inconsolable  that  he  shut  himself 
up  for  eight  entire  days  in  a  little  cabinet,  where 
he  spent  his  time  knocking  his  head  against  the 
wall,  until  the  courtiers  were  afraid  he  would  kill 
himself.  At  last  there  presented  herself  before 
him  a  lady,  covered  from  head  to  foot  in  a  long 
crape  veil,  who  wept  and  sobbed  so  much  that  the 
king  noticed  her.  She  told  him  that  she  did  not 
come,  like  the  rest,  to  console  him,  but  rather  to  en- 
courage his  grief.  She  herself  had  lost  the  best  of 
husbands,  and  here  she  began  to  weep  so  profusely 
that  it  was  a  wonder  her  eyes  were  not  melted  out 
of  her  head.  The  king  began  to  weep  in  company, 
and  to  talk  to  her  of  his  dear  wife — she  did  the 
same  of  her  dear  husband;  in  fact,  they  talked  so 
much  that  they  talked  their  sorrow  quite  away. 
Then,  lifting  up  her  veil,  she  showed  lovely  blue 
eyes  and  dark  eyelashes.  The  king  noticed  her 
more  and  more — he  spoke  less  and  less  of  the  de- 
parted queen;  by  and  by  he  ceased  to  speak  of  her 


178  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

at  all.    The  end  was  that  he  courted  the  incon- 
solable lady  in  the  black  veil  and  married  her. 

By  his  first  marriage  he  had  one  daughter, 
called  Fiorina,  or  the  little  Flora,  because  she  was 
so  fresh  and  lovely;  at  the  time  of  his  second  mar- 
riage she  was  quite  fifteen  years  old.  The  new 
queen  also  had  a  daughter,  who  was  being  brought 
up  by  her  godmother,  the  fairy  Soussio — her  name 
Was  Troutina,  because  her  complexion  was  all 
spotted  like  a  trout's  back.  Indeed,  she  was  alto- 
gether ugly  and  disagreeable;  and  when  contrast- 
ed with  Fiorina,  the  difference  between  the  two 
made  the  mother  so  envious  that  she  and  Troutina 
spared  no  pains  to  make  the  princess'  life  unhap- 
py, and  to  speak  ill  of  her  to  her  father. 

One  day  the  king  observed  that  both  girls 
were  now  old  enough  to  be  married,  and  that  he 
intended  to  choose  for  one  of  them  the  first  prince 
who  visited  his  court. 

"Be  it  so,"  said  the  queen;  "and  as  my  daughter 
is  older,  handsomer,  and  more  amiable  than  yours, 
she  shall  have  the  first  choice."  The  king  disput- 
ed nothing;  indeed,  he  never  did — the  queen  ruled 
him  in  all  things. 

Some  time  after,  news  came  that  King  Charm- 
ing would  shortly  arrive,  and  that  he  was  as  charm- 


THE  BLUEBIRD  179 

ing  as  his  name.  When  the  queen  heard  this  news, 
she  sent  for  milliners,  dress-makers,  jewelers,  and 
decked  Troutina  from  head  to  foot;  but  to  Fiorina 
she  allowed  not  a  single  new  frock.  The  poor 
princess  had  to  put  on  her  old  one,  which  was  very 
old  and  shabby  indeed;  she  was  so  much  ashamed 
of  it  that  she  hid  herself  in  a  corner  of  the  salon, 
lest  King  Charming  should  see  her.  But  he  did 
not,  being  overwhelmed  with  the  ceremonious  re- 
ception given  him  by  the  queen,  who  presented 
to  him  Troutina,  all  blazing  with  jewels,  yet  so 
ugly  that  King  Charming  involuntarily  turned 
away  his  eyes. 

"But,  madam,  is  there  not  another  princess, 
called  Fiorina?" 

They  pointed  to  the  corner  where  Fiorina  was 
hidden,  and  she  came  out,  blushing  so  much  that 
the  young  king  was  dazzled  with  her  beauty,  in 
spite  of  her  shabby  gown.  He  rose  and  made  her 
a  profound  reverence,  paying  her  besides  so  many 
elegant  compliments  that  the  queen  became  very 
much  displeased.  King  Charming  took  no  heed, 
but  conversed  with  Fiorina  for  three  hours  with- 
out stopping.  Indeed,  his  admiration  of  her  was 
so  plain,  that  the  queen  and  Troutina  begged  of 
the  king  that  she  might  be  shut  up  in  a  tower  dur- 
ing the  whole  time  of  King  Charming's  visit;  so, 


180  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

as  soon  as  she  had  returned  to  her  apartment,  four 
men  in  masks  entered  and  carried  her  off,  leaving* 
her  in  a  dark  cell,  and  in  the  utmost  desolation. 

Meantime  King  Charming  eagerly  awaited 
her  reappearance,  but  he  saw  her  no  more;  and  by 
the  queen's  orders,  every  one  about  him  spoke  all 
the  evil  they  could  of  poor  Fiorina,  but  he  refused 
to  believe  one  word.  "No/'  said  he,  "nature  could 
not  have  united  a  base  nature  to  such  a  sweet,  in- 
nocent face.  I  will  rather  suppose  that  she  is 
maligned  by  her  step-mother  and  by  Troutina,  who 
is  so  ugly  herself  that  no  wonder  she  bears  envy 
toward  the  fairest  woman  in  the  world." 

The  queen,  to  win  King  Charming  for  her 
daughter,  made  him  many  presents;  among  the 
rest  an  order  of  knighthood,  a  golden  heart,  en- 
ameled in  flame-color,  surrounded  with  many  ar- 
rows, but  pierced  by  one  only,  the  motto  being, 
"She  alone."  The  heart  was  made  of  a  single  ruby 
as  big  as  an  ostrich's  egg.  Each  arrow  was  a  dia- 
mond, a  finger's  length,  and  the  chain  was  of 
pearls,  each  weighing  a  pound.  When  the  young 
king  received  this  very  handsome  present,  he  was 
much  perplexed,  until  they  told  him  it  came  from 
the  princess  whom  he  had  lately  seen,  and  who  re- 
quested him  to  be  her  knight. 

"Fiorina!"  cried  he,  enchanted. 


THE  BLUEBIRD  181 

"No,  Troutina." 

"Then  I  am  sorry  I  cannot  accept  the  honor," 
replied  King  Charming.  "A  monarch  is  surely  at 
liberty  to  form  his  own  engagements.  I  know  what 
is  a  knight's  duty  to  his  lady,  and  should  wish  to 
fulfill  it;  as  I  cannot  fulfill  it  to  Troutina,  I  would 
rather  decline  the  favor  she  offers  me  than  become 
unworthy  of  it." 

Civil  as  this  answer  was,  it  irritated  the  queen 
and  her  daughter  exceedingly;  and  when  he  at 
last  inquired  where  the  younger  princess  was,  the 
queen  answered  fiercely  that  she  was  shut  up  in 
prison,  and  would  remain  there  till  Troutina  was 
married. 

"And  for  what  reason?"  asked  King  Charm- 
ing. 

"I  do  not  know;  and  if  I  did,  I  would  not  tell 
you,"  replied  the  queen  more  angrily  than  ever; 
so  that  King  Charming  quitted  her  presence  as 
soon  as  ever  he  could. 

When  he  was  alone,  he  sent  for  one  of  his  at- 
tendants, whom  he  trusted  very  much,  and  begged 
him  to  gain  information  from  some  court  lady 
about  the  Princess  Fiorina.  This  scheme  suc- 
ceeded so  well  that  Fiorina  was  persuaded  to 
promise  she  would  speak  to  him  for  a  few  moments 


182  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

next  night,  from  a  small  window  at  the  bottom  of 
the  tower.  But  the  faithless  lady-in-waiting  be- 
trayed her  to  the  queen,  who  locked  her  up  in  her 
chamber,  and  determined  to  send  her  own 
daughter  to  the  window  instead.  The  night  was  so 
dark  that  King  Charming  never  found  out  the 
difference,  but  made  to  Troutina  all  the  tender 
speeches  that  he  meant  for  Fiorina,  offering  her 
his  crown  and  his  heart,  and  ending  by  placing  his 
own  ring  on  her  finger,  as  a  pledge  of  eternal  fideli- 
ty. He  also  made  her  agree  to  fly  with  him  next 
night,  in  a  chariot  drawn  by  winged  frogs,  of 
which  a  great  magician,  one  of  his  friends,  had 
made  him  a  present.  He  thought  she  talked  very 
little,  and  that  little  not  in  quite  so  pleasing  a  voice 
as  formerly;  still,  he  was  too  much  in  love  to  no- 
tice much,  and  departed  very  joyful  in  having  ob- 
tained her  promise. 

Next  night  Troutina,  thickly  veiled,  quitted 
the  palace  by  a  secret  door.  King  Charming  met 
her,  received  her  in  his  arms,  and  vowed  to  love 
her  forever.  Then  he  lifted  her  into  the  fairy  char- 
iot, and  they  sailed  about  in  the  air  for  some 
hours.  At  last  he  proposed  that  they  should  de- 
scend to  earth  and  be  married.  Troutina  agreed 
with  all  her  heart,  but  wished  that  the  ceremony 
should  be  performed  at  her  godmother's,  the  fairy 
Soussio.    So  they  entered  together  into  the  fairy 


THE  BLUEBIRD  183 

palace,  and  she  told  her  godmother  privately  how 
all  had  happened,  and  how  she  had  won  King- 
Charming,  begging  the  fairy  to  pacify  him  when 
he  found  out  his  mistake. 

"My  child,"  replied  the  godmother,  "that  is 
more  easily  said  than  done;  he  is  too  deeply  in 
love  with  Fiorina." 

Meantime  the  king  was  left  waiting  in  a  cham- 
ber with  diamond  walls,  so  thin  and  transparent 
that  through  them  he  heard  Troutina  and  Soussio 
conversing  together.  He  stood  like  a  man  in  a 
dream:  "What!  am  I  betrayed?  Has  this  enemy  to 
my  peace  carried  away  my  dear  Fiorina?" 

How  great  was  his  despair  when  Soussio  said 
to  him  in  commanding  voice,  "King  Charming,  be- 
hold the  Princess  Troutina,  to  whom  you  have 
promised  your  faith;  marry  her  immediately!" 

"Do  you  think  me  a  fool?"  cried  the  king.  "I 
have  promised  her  nothing.    She  is — " 

"Stop — if  you  show  any  disrespect — " 

"I  will  respect  you  as  much  as  a  fairy  deserves 
to  be  respected,  if  you  will  only  give  me  back  my 
princess." 

"I  am  she,"  said  Troutina.  "It  was  to  me  you 
gave  this  ring;  to  me  you  spoke  at  the  window." 


184  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

"I  have  been  wickedly  deceived!"  cried  the 
king;  "come,  my  winged  frogs,  we  will  depart  im- 
mediately." 

"You  cannot,"  said  Soussio;  and,  touching 
him,  he  found  himself  fixed  as  if  his  feet  were  glued 
to  the  pavement. 

"You  may  turn  me  into  stone!"  exclaimed  he; 
"but  I  will  love  no  one  except  Fiorina." 

Soussio  employed  persuasions,  threats,  prom- 
ises, entreaties.  Troutina  wept,  groaned,  shrieked, 
and  then  tried  quiet  sulkiness;  but  the  king  ut- 
tered not  a  word.  For  twenty  days  and  twenty 
nights  he  stood  there,  without  sleeping,  or  eating, 
or  once  sitting  down — they  talking  all  the  while. 

At  length  Soussio,  quite  worn  out,  said: 
"Choose  seven  years  of  penitence  and  punishment, 
or  marry  my  goddaughter." 

"I  choose,"  answered  the  king;  "and  I  will  not 
marry  your  goddaughter." 

"Then  fly  out  of  this  window  in  the  shape  of 
a  bluebird."  • 

Immediately  the  king's  figure  changed.  His 
arms  formed  themselves  into  wings;  his  legs  and 
feet  turned  black  and  thin,  and  claws  grew  upon 
them;  his  body  wasted  into  the  slender  shape  of  a 


HE  FLEW  AWAY  FROM  THE  PALACE  OF  SOUISSA 


186  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

bird,  and  was  covered  with  bright  blue  feathers; 
his  eyes  became  round  and  beady;  his  nose  an  ivory 
beak;  and  his  crown  was  a  white  plume  on  the  top 
of  his  head.  He  began  to  speak  in  a  singing  voice, 
and  then,  uttering  a  doleful  cry,  fled  away  as  far 
as  possible  from  the  fatal  palace  of  Soussio. 

But  though  he  looked  only  a  bluebird,  the  king 
was  his  own  natural  self  still,  and  remembered  all 
his  misfortunes,  and  did  not  cease  to  lament  for  his 
beautiful  Fiorina.  Flying  from  tree  to  tree,  he 
sang  melancholy  songs  about  her  and  himself, 
and  wished  he  were  dead  many  a  time. 

The  fairy  Soussio  sent  Troutina  back  to  her 
mother,  who  was  furious.  "Fiorina  shall  repent 
having  pleased  King  Charming!"  cried  she;  and 
dressing  her  own  daughter  in  rich  garments,  with 
a  gold  crown  on  her  head,  and  King  Charming's 
ring  on  her  finger,  she  took  her  to  the  tower. 
"Fiorina,  your  sister  is  come  to  see  and  bring  you 
marriage  presents,  for  she  is  now  the  wife  of  King 
Charming." 

Fiorina,  doubting  no  more  her  lover's  loss,  fell 
down  in  a  swoon,  and  the  queen  immediately  went 
to  tell  her  father  that  she  was  mad  for  love,  and 
must  be  watched  closely  lest  she  should  in  some 
way  disgrace  herself.  The  king  said  her  stepmoth- 
er might  do  with  her  exactly  what  she  pleased. 


THE  BLUEBIRD  187 

When  the  princess  recovered  from  her  swoon, 
she  began  to  weep,  and  wept  all  night  long,  sitting 
at  the  open  window  of  her  tower.  The  bluebird, 
happened  to  come  and  perch  upon  a  tall  cypress 
opposite  the  window,  and  heard  her,  but  it  was  too 
dark  to  see  who  she  was,  and  at  daylight  she  shut 
the  window. 


Tlie  ^Bluebird 

PART  II 

Next  night,  it  was  broad  moonlight,  and  then 
he  saw  clearly  the  figure  of  a  young  girl,  weeping 
and  knew  that  it  was  his  beloved  Fiorina. 

When  she  paused  in  her  lamentations,  "Ador- 
able princess,"  said  he,  "why  do  you  mourn?  Your 
troubles  are  not  without  remedy." 

"Who  speaks  to  me  so  gently?"  asked  she. 

"A  king,  who  loves  you,  and  will  never  love 
any  other." 

So  saying  he  flew  up  to  the  window,  and  at 
first  frightened  the  princess  very  much,  for  she 
could  not  understand  such  an  extraordinary  thing 
as  a  bird  who  talked  in  words  like  a  man,  yet  kept 
still  the  piping  voice  of  a  nightingale.  But  soon 
she  began  stroking  his  beautiful  plumage  and 
caressing  him. 

"Who  are  you,  charming  bird?" 

"You  have  spoken  my  name.    I  am  King 


ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE  189 

Charming,  condemned  to  be  a  bird  for  seven  years, 
because  I  will  not  renounce  you." 

"Ah !  do  not  deceive  me.  I  know  you  have  mar- 
ried Troutina.  She  came  to  visit  me  with  your  dia- 
monds on  her  neck,  and  your  ring  on  her  finger, 
wearing  the  golden  crown  and  royal  mantel  which 
you  had  given  her,  while  I  was  laden  with  iron 
chains. 

"It  is  all  false,"  sang  the  bluebird,  and  told 
her  his  whole  story,  which  comforted  her  so  much 
that  she  thought  no  more  of  her  misfortunes.  They 
conversed  till  daybreak,  and  promised  faithfully 
every  night  to  meet  again  thus. 

The  beautiful  bluebird,  hid  in  a  hollow  tree, 
spent  the  hours  in  thinking  of  his  princess.  And 
as  he  wished  to  pay  her  all  the  attentions  that  a 
lover  delights  in,  he  flew  to  his  own  kingdom,  en- 
tered his  palace  by  an  open  window,  and  sought 
for  some  diamond  ear-rings,  which  he  brought 
back  in  his  beak,  and  when  night  came,  offered 
them  to  Fiorina.  So  night  after  night  he  brought 
her  something  beautiful,  and  they  talked  together 
till  day,  when  he  flew  back  to  the  hollow  tree,  where 
he  sang  her  praises  in  a  voice  so  sweet  that  passers- 
by  thought  it  was  not  a  bird  but  a  spirit.  Rumors 
went  about  that  the  place  was  haunted,  and  no 
one  would  go  near  the  spot.    Thus  for  two  years 


190  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

Fiorina  spent  her  time,  and  never  once  regretted 
her  captivity. 

The  malicious  queen  tried  with  all  her  might 
to  get  Troutina  married,  but  in  vain.  Nobody 
would  have  her.  "If  it  were  Fiorina,  now,"  said  the 
kings,  or  the  kings'  ambassadors,  "we  should  be 
most  happy  to  sign  the  contract." 

"That  girl  thwarts  us  still,"  said  the  queen. 
"She  must  have  some  secret  correspondence  with 
foreign  suitors.  But  we  will  find  her  out  and  pun- 
ish her." 

The  mother  and  daughter  finished  talking  so 
late  that  it  was  midnight  before  they  reached  Fio- 
rina's apartment.  She  had  dressed  herself  as  usual, 
with  the  utmost  care,  to  please  her  bluebird,  who 
liked  to  see  her  lovely;  and  she  had  adorned  her- 
self with  all  the  pretty  things  he  had  given  her. 
He  perched  on  the  window-sill,  and  she  sat  at  the 
window,  and  they  were  singing  together  a  duet, 
which  the  queen  heard  outside.  She  burst  the  door 
open,  and  rushed  into  the  chamber. 

The  first  thing  Fiorina  did  was  to  open  her  lit- 
tle window  that  the  bluebird  might  fly  away.  But 
he  would  not.  He  had  seen  the  queen  and  Troutina, 
and  though  he  could  not  defend  his  princess,  he 
refused  to  leave  her.  The  two  rushed  upon  her  like 


THE  BLUEBIRD  191 

furies.  Her  wonderful  beauty  and  her  splendid 
jewels  startled  them.  "Whence  came  all  these  or- 
naments?" cried  they. 

"I  found  them,"  replied  Fiorina,  and  refused 
to  answer  more. 

"Some  one  has  given  them  to  you  that  you 
might  join  in  treason  against  your  father  and  the 
kingdom." 

"Am  I  likely  to  do  this?  I,  a  poor  princess, 
kept  in  captivity  for  two  years,  with  you  as  my 
jailer?" 

"In  captivity,"  repeated  the  queen.  "Why, 
then,  do  you  dress  yourself  so  fine  and  adorn  your 
chamber  with  flowers?" 

"I  have  leasure  enough;  I  may  just  as  well 
spend  some  of  it  in  adorning  myself,  instead  of  be- 
moaning my  misfortune — innocent  as  I  am." 

"Innocent,  indeed!"  cried  the  queen,  and  be- 
gan to  search  the  room.  In  it  she  found  all  King 
Charming's  presents — diamonds,  rubies,  emeralds, 
amethysts — in  short,  jewels  without  end.  Mean- 
time, from  the  window  the  bluebird,  who  had  the 
eye  of  a  lynx,  sang  aloud,  "Beware,  Fiorina!" 

"You  see,  madam,"  said  Fiorina,  "even  the 
spirits  of  the  air  take  pity  upon  me." 


192  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

"I  see  that  you  are  in  league  with  demons;  but 
your  father  shall  judge  you;"  and  very  much 
frightened,  the  queen  left  her  and  went  to  hold 
counsel  with  Troutina  as  to  what  was  to  be  done. 
They  agreed  to  put  in  Fiorina's  chamber  a  waiting- 
maid,  who  should  watch  her  from  morning  till 
night.  When  the  princess  learned  this  she  was  in 
great  grief. 

"Alas!"  cried  she,  "I  can  no  longer  talk  with 
my  bird  who  loved  me  so;  and  our  love  was  conso- 
lation for  all  our  misfortunes.  What  will  he  do? 
What  shall  I  do?"  And  she  melted  into  floods  of 
tears. 

She  dared  not  open  the  window,  though  she 
heard  continually  his  wings  fluttering  round  it. 
For  more  than  a  month  she  waited;  but  the  serving 
maid  watched  her  night  and  day.  At  last,  over- 
come with  weariness,  the  girl  fell  asleep,  and  then 
Fiorina  opened  her  little  window,  and  sang  in  a 
low  voice: 

"Bluebird,  bluebird, 
Come  to  my  side." 

The  bluebird  flew  to  the  window-sill,  and  they 
lavished  on  one  another  a  hundred  caresses,  and 
talked  together  till  dawn.  Next  night  was  also 
the  same,  till  they  began  to  hope  that  the  waiting- 


THE  BLUEBIRD  193 

maid,  who  seemed  to  enjoy  her  sleep  so  much,  would 
sleep  every  night  to  come.  But  on  the  third  night, 
hearing  a  noise,  she  wakened,  and  saw  by  the  light 
of  the  moon  the  Princess  Fiorina  sitting  at  the  win- 
dow with  a  beautiful  bluebird,  who  warbled  in 
her  ear  and  touched  her  gently  with  his  beak.  The 
spy  listened  and  heard  all  their  conversation,  very 
much  astonished  that  a  princess  could  be  so  fond 
of  a  mere  bird.  When  day  came  she  related  all  to 
the  queen  and  Troutina,  who  concluded  that  the 
bird  could  be  no  other  than  King  Charming.  They 
sent  the  girl  back,  told  her  to  express  no  curiosity, 
but  to  feign  sleep,  and  to  go  to  bed  earlier  than 
usual.  Then  the  poor  deceived  princess  opened  her 
little  window,  and  sang  her  usual  song: 


"Bluebird,  bluebird, 
Come  to  my  side." 


But  no  bluebird  appeared.  The  queen  had 
caused  sharp  knives  to  be  hung  outside  the  hollow 
of  the  tree;  he  flew  against  them  and  cut  his  feet 
and  wings,  till  he  dropped  down,  covered  with 
blood. 

"Oh,  Fiorina,  come  to  my  help!"  sighed  he. 
"But  she  is  dead,  I  know,  and  I  will  die  also." 


194  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

At  that  moment,  his  friend,  the  magician,  who 
since  he  had  seen  the  chariot  with  flying  frogs  re- 
turn without  King  Charming,  had  gone  eight 
times  around  the  world  in  search  of  him,  made  his 
ninth  journey,  and  came  to  the  tree  where  the  poor 
bluebird  lay,  calling  out,  "King  Charming,  King 
Charming !" 

The  king  recognized  the  voice  of  his  best 
friend;  whereupon  the  magician  took  him  out  of  the 
hollow  tree,  healed  his  wounds,  and  heard  all  his 
history.  He  persuaded  King  Charming  that,  over- 
come with  fear  and  cruel  treatment,  Fiorina  must 
have  betrayed  him.  "Then  do  as  you  will  with  me!" 
cried  the  king.  "Put  me  into  a  cage  and  take  me 
back  with  you.  I  shall  at  least  be  safe  there  for  the 
five  years  that  are  to  be  endured." 

"But,"  said  the  enchanter,  "can  you  remain 
five  years  in  so  undignified  a  position?  And  you 
have  enemies  who  will  assuredly  seize  on  your 
kingdom." 

"Why  can  I  not  return  and  govern  it  as  be- 
fore?" 

"I  fear,"  replied  his  friend,  "that  the  thing  is 
difficult.   Who  would  obey  a  bluebird?" 

"Ah,  that  is  too  true!"  cried  the  king  sadly. 
"People  only  judge  by  the  outside." 


THE  BLUEBIRD  195 

Meantime  Fiorina,  overcome  with  grief,  fell 
dangerously  sick,  and  in  her  sickness  she  kept  sing- 
ing, day  and  night,  her  little  song: 

"Bluebird,  bluebird, 
Come  to  my  side." 

But  no  one  regarded  her. 

At  last  a  sudden  change  took  place  in  her  for- 
tunes. The  king,  her  father,  died  and  the  people, 
who  knew  she  was  the  heir,  began  to  inquire,  with 
one  accord,  where  was  the  Princess  Fiorina?  They 
assailed  the  palace  in  crowds,  demanding  her  for 
their  sovereign.  The  riot  became  so  dangerous 
that  Troutina  and  her  mother  fled  away  to  the  fairy 
Soussio.  Then  the  populace  stormed  the  tower,  res- 
cued the  sick  and  almost  dying  princess,  and 
crowned  her  as  their  queen. 

The  exceeding  care  that  was  taken  of  her,  and 
her  longing  to  live  in  order  to  see  again  her  blue- 
bird, restored  Fiorina's  health  and  gave  her 
strength  to  call  a  council  and  arrange  all  the  affairs 
of  her  kingdom.  Then  she  departed  by  night,  and 
alone,  to  go  over  the  world  in  search  of  her  blue- 
bird. 

The  magician,  who  was  King  Charming's 
friend,  went  to  the  fairy  Soussio,  whom  he  knew, 


196  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

for  they  had  quarreled  and  made  it  up  again,  as 
fairies  and  magicians  do,  many  times  within  the 
last  five  or  six  hundred  years.  She  received  him 
civilly  and  asked  him  what  he  wanted.  He  tried 
to  make  a  bargain  with  her,  but  could  effect  noth- 
ing, unless  King  Charming  would  consent  to  marry 
Troutina.  The  enchanter  found  this  bride  so  ugly 
that  he  could  not  advise.  Still,  the  bluebird  had 
run  so  many  risks  in  his  cage;  the  nail  it  was  hung 
upon  had  broken,  and  the  king  suffered  much  in 
the  fall;  Minette,  the  cat,  had  glowered  at  him  with 
her  green  eyes;  the  attendants  had  forgotten  his 
hemp-seed  and  his  water-glass,  so  that  he  was  half - 
dying  of  hunger  and  thirst;  and  a  monkey  had 
plucked  at  his  feathers  through  the  wires  as  disre- 
spectfully as  if,  instead  of  a  king,  he  had  been  a  lin- 
net or  a  jay.  Worse  than  all,  his  heir  spread  re- 
ports of  his  death,  and  threatened  to  seize  on  his 
throne. 

Under  these  circumstances  the  magician 
thought  it  best  to  agree  with  Soussio  that  King 
Charming  should  be  restored  to  his  kingdom  and 
his  natural  shape  for  six  months,  on  condition  that 
Troutina  should  remain  in  his  palace,  and  that  he 
should  try  to  like  her  and  marry  her.  If  not,  he  was 
to  become  again  a  bluebird.  So  he  found  himself 
once  more  King  Charming,  and  as  charming  as 
ever;  but  would  rather  have  been  a  bluebird  and 


THE  BLUEBIRD  197 

near  his  beloved,  than  a  king"  in  the  society  of 
Troutina. 

Meanwhile  the  Queen  Fiorina,  in  a  peasant's 
dress,  with  a  straw  hat  on  her  head,  and  a  canvas 
sack  on  her  shoulder,  began  her  journey;  some- 
times on  horseback,  sometimes  on  foot,  sometimes 
by  sea,  sometimes  by  land,  wandering  evermore 
after  her  beloved  King  Charming.  One  day,  stop- 
ping beside  a  fountain,  she  let  her  hair  fall  loose, 
and  dipped  her  weary  feet  in  the  cool  water,  when 
an  old  woman,  bent,  and  leaning  on  a  stick,  came 
by. 

"My  pretty  maiden,  what  are  you  doing  here 
all  alone?" 

"Good  mother,"  replied  the  queen,  "I  have  too 
many  troubles  to  be  pleasant  company  for  any- 
body." 

♦ 

"Tell  me  your  troubles,  and  I  may  be  able  to 
soften  them." 

Fiorina  obeyed  and  told  her  whole  history,  and 
how  she  was  traveling  over  the  world  in  search  of 
the  bluebird.  The  little  woman  listened  attentive- 
ly, and  then,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  became,  in- 
stead of  an  old  woman,  a  beautiful  fairy. 

"Incomparable  Fiorina,  the  king  you  seek  is  no 
longer  a  bird;  my  sister  Soussio  has  restored  him 


198  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

to  his  proper  shape,  and  he  reigns  in  his  own  king- 
dom. Do  not  afflict  yourself;  happiness  will  yet  be 
yours.  Take  these  four  eggs,  and  whenever  you 
are  in  trouble,  break  one  of  them,  and  see  what  en- 
sues." So  saying  the  fairy  vanished. 

Fiorina,  greatly  comforted,  put  the  eggs  in  her 
sack  and  turned  her  steps  toward  the  country  of 
King  Charming.  She  walked  eight  days  and 
nights  without  stopping,  and  then  came  to  a  moun- 
tain made  entirely  of  ivory,  and  nearly  perpendic- 
ular. Despairing  of  ever  climbing  it,  she  sank 
down  at  the  foot,  prepared  to  die  there,  when  she 
bethought  herself  of  the  eggsc  So  she  broke  one, 
and  inside  it  were  little  hooks  of  gold,  which  she 
fitted  to  her  feet,  and  hands,  and  by  means  of  which 
she  climbed  the  mountain  with  ease.  Arrived  at 
the  summit  she  found  new  ifficulties;  for  the  valley 
below  was  one  large  smooth  mirror. 

The  queen,  uncertain  what  to  do,  broke  the 
second  eggf  and  there  flew  out  two  pigeons  har- 
nessed to  a  fine  chariot,  in  which  Fiorina  mounted, 
and  descended  lightly  over  the  mirror  to  the  val- 
ley's foot.  "Now,  my  pretty  pigeons/'  said  she, 
"will  you  convey  me  to  the  palace  of  King  Charm- 
ing?" The  obedient  pigeons  did  so,  flying  day  and 
night  till  they  reached  the  city  gates. 

How  her  heart  beat  as  she  entered  and  begged 


THE  BLUEBIRD  199 

to  see  the  king!  "You!"  cried  the  servants  mock- 
ing. "Little  peasant-girl,  your  eyes  are  not  half 
good  enough  to  see  the  king.  Besides,  he  is  going 
tomorrow  to  the  temple  with  the  Princess  Troutina, 
whom  he  has  at  last  agreed  to  marry." 

Fiorina  sat  down  on  a  doorstep  and  hid  hei 
face  under  her  straw  hat  and  her  drooping  hair. 
"Alas!"  she  cried,  "my  bluebird  has  forsaken  me." 

She  neither  ate  nor  slept,  but  rose  with  the 
dawn  and  pushed  her  way  through  the  guards  to 
the  temple,  where  she  saw  two  thrones,  one  for 
King  Charming,  and  the  other  for  Troutina.  They 
arrived  shortly;  he  more  charming  and  she  more 
repulsive  than  ever.  Knitting  her  brows,  Troutina 
exclaimed,  "What  creature  is  that  who  dares  ap- 
proach so  near  my  golden  throne?" 

"I  am  a  poor  peasant-girl,"  said  Fiorina,  "I 
come  from  afar  to  sell  you  curiosities."  And  she 
took  out  of  her  sack  the  emerald  bracelet  which  the 
bluebird  had  given  her. 

"These  are  pretty  trinkets,"  said  Troutina; 
and  going  up  to  the  king  she  asked  him  what  he 
thought  of  them.  At  sight  of  the  ornaments  he 
turned  pale,  remembering  those  he  had  given  to 
Fiorina. 

"These  bracelets  are  worth  half  my  kingdom; 


200  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

I  did  not  think  there  had  been  more  than  one  pair 
in  the  world." 

"Then  I  will  buy  these,"  said  Troutina;  but 
Fiorina  refused  to  sell  them  for  money;  the  price 
she  asked  was  permission  to  sleep  a  night  in  the 
chamber  of  echoes. 

"As  you  will;  your  bargains  are  cheap 
enough,"  replied  Troutina,  laughing;  and  when  she 
laughed  she  showed  teeth  like  the  tusks  of  a  wild 
boar. 

Now  the  king,  when  he  was  a  bluebird  had  in- 
formed Fiorina  about  his  chamber  of  echoes,  where 
every  word  spoken  could  be  heard  in  his  own  cham- 
ber; she  could  not  have  chosen  a  better  way  of  re- 
proaching him  for  his  infidelity.  But  vain  were  her 
sobs  and  complainings;  the  king  had  taken  opium 
to  lull  his  grief;  he  slept  soundly  all  night  long. 
Next  day,  Fiorina  was  in  great  disquietude.  Could 
he  have  really  heard  her,  and  been  indifferent  to 
her  sorrows;  or  had  he  not  heard  her  at  all?  She 
determined  to  buy  another  night  in  the  chamber  of 
echoes;  but  she  had  no  more  jewels  to  tempt 
Troutina;  so  she  broke  the  third  egg.  Out  of  it 
came  a  chariot  of  polished  steel,  inlaid  with  gold, 
drawn  by  six  green  mice,  the  coachman  being  a 
rose-colored  rat,  and  the  postilion  a  gray  one.   In- 


THE  BLUEBIRD  201 

side  the  carriage  sat  little  puppets,  who  behaved 
themselves  just  like  live  ladies  and  gentlemen. 

When  Troutina  went  to  walk  in  the  palace  gar- 
den, Fiorina  awaited  her  in  a  green  valley,  and 
made  the  mice  gallop,  and  the  ladies  and  gentle- 
men bow,  till  the  princess  was  delighted,  and  ready 
to  buy  the  curiosity  at  any  price.  Again  Fiorina 
exacted  permission  to  pass  the  night  in  the  cham- 
ber of  echoes;  and  again  the  king,  undisturbed  by 
her  lamentations,  slept  without  waking  till  dawn. 

The  third  day,  one  of  the  palace  valets,  passing 
her  by,  said,  "You  stupid  peasant-girl,  it  is  well  the 
king  takes  opium  every  night,  or  you  would  disturb 
him  by  that  terrible  sobbing  of  yours." 

"Does  he  so?"  said  the  queen,  now  compre- 
hending all.  "Then  if  you  will  promise  tonight  to 
keep  the  opium  cup  out  of  his  way,  these  pearls  and 
diamonds,"  and  she  took  a  handful  of  them  from 
her  sack,  "shall  assuredly  be  yours." 

The  valet  promised;  and  then  Fiorina  broke 
her  fourth  egg,  out  of  which  came  a  pie  composed 
of  birds,  which,  though  they  had  been  plucked, 
baked,  and  made  ready  for  the  table,  sang  as 
beautifully  as  birds  that  are  alive.  Troutina, 
charmed  with  this  marvelous  novelty,  bought  it  at 
the  same  price  as  the  rest,  adding  generously  a 
small  piece  of  gold. 


202  ADVENTURES  OF  A  BROWNIE 

When  all  in  the  palace  were  asleep,  Fiorina  for 
the  last  time,  hoping  King  Charming  would  hear 
her,  called  upon  him  with  all  sorts  of  tender  ex- 
pressions, reminding  him  of  their  former  vows, 
and  their  two  years  of  happiness.  "What  have  I 
done  to  thee,  that  thou  shouldst  forget  me  and 
marry  Troutina?"  sobbed  she;  and  the  king,  who 
this  time  was  wide  awake,  heard  her.  He  could  not 
make  out  whose  voice  it  was,  or  whence  it  came, 
but  it  somehow  reminded  him  of  his  dearest  Fio- 
rina, whom  he  had  never  ceased  to  love.  He  called 
his  valet,  inquired  who  was  sleeping  in  the  cham- 
ber of  echoes,  and  heard  that  it  was  the  little  pea- 
sant-girl who  had  sold  to  Troutina  the  emerald 
bracelet.  Then  he  rose  up,  dressed  himself  hastily, 
and  went  in  search  of  her.  She  was  sitting  mourn- 
fully on  the  floor,  with  her  hair  hiding  her  face, 
and  her  eyes  swollen  with  tears;  but  he  knew  at 
once  his  faithful  Fiorina.  He  fell  on  his  knees  be- 
fore her,  covered  her  hands  with  kisses,  and  they 
embraced  and  wept  together.  For  what  was  the 
good  of  all  their  love  when  they  were  still  in  the 
power  of  the  fairy  Soussio? 

But  at  this  moment  appeared  the  friendly  en- 
chanter, with  a  fairy  still  greater  than  Soussio,  the 
one  who  had  given  Fiorina  the  four  eggs.  They 
declared  that  their  united  power  was  stronger  than 


THE  BLUEBIRD 


203 


Soussio's,  and  that  the  lovers  should  be  married 
without  further  delay. 

When  this  news  reached  Troutina,  she  ran  to 
the  chamber  of  echoes,  and  there  beheld  her  beauti- 
ful rival,  whom  she  had  so  cruelly  afflicted.  But 
the  moment  she  opened  her  mouth  to  speak,  her 
wicked  tongue  was  silenced  forever;  for  the  magi- 
cian turned  her  into  a  trout,  which  he  flung  out 
of  the  window  into  the  stream  that  flowed  through 
the  castle  garden. 

As  for  King  Charming  and  Queen  Fiorina,  de- 
livered out  of  all  their  sorrows,  and  given  to  one 
another,  their  joy  was  quite  inexpressible,  and  it 
lasted  to  the  end  of  their  lives. 


HEIDI 

by  JOHANNA  SPYRI 


EVERY  CHILD,  as  well  as  all  lovers  of  children, 
should  read  this  artfully  written  story  by  the 
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Her  only  child  companion  is  Peter,  the  goatherd,  but 
she  never  gets  lonely.  She  is  too  busy  doing  good 
and  just  being  happy  up  in  her  passionately-loved 
mountains.  She  brings  the  light  of  love  into  a  blind 
woman's  life,  she  softens  the  grandfather's  heart — in 
fact,  this  little  girl  is  the  spirit  of  Good.  The  world 
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teen smaller  drawings. 

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THE  LAMBKIN  SERIES 


Written  and  Illustrated  By  Warner  Carr 


In  this  new  departure  from  the  usual  animal  stories  for  children 
the  author  has  written  delightful  and  lovable  stories  that  instruct 
while  they  amuse,  about  little  lambs  and  their  companions.  Each 
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LITTLE  FRISKY  LAMMIE 

This  book  tells  of  Frisky's  meeting  with  Brown  Honey  Bee,  Jim- 
mie  Crow,  Nibble  Rabbit  and  other  field  animals.  He  learns  how  they 
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MOLLIE'S  BABY  LAMMIE 

Relates  the  affection  of  a  mischievous  little  lamb  for  a  little  girl; 
Baby  Lammie's  pranks,  how  Mollie's  life  is  saved  and  many  other 
happenings. 


LITTLE  LOST  LAMMIE 

This  is  the  story  of  the  Little  Lamb  who  was  always  running  away 
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POLLY  AND  SPARK 

By  ROSALIE  G.  MENDEL 

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